Day Laborer Falls Victim To Alleged Hate Crime

By: Lily Jamali

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The victim of a possible bias attack in a Brooklyn neighborhood where an Ecuadorian immigrant was beaten to death less than a year ago is fighting for his life as police continue their search for the persons responsible. NY1's Lily Jamali filed the following report.

As her husband lies in a hospital bed, Ana Maria Gallardo can only pray he'll be okay. Mario Vera's at Beth Israel Medical Center suffering from blood clots on the brain after an assault that police are investigating as a hate crime.

"I'm stressed. I'm scared -- scared that he'll never recover," Gallardo said.

Police say on September 23, Vera went to a Manhattan church from their Brooklyn home to pick up groceries from a food pantry. The attack happened sometime that afternoon as he was biking home to Bushwick.

"The description is of three males described as young black men, attacking the individual," said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Police, who are now offering a $12,000 reward, say the young men hit Vera in the back of his head with something hard while yelling anti-immigrant slurs.

Police don't have many details because Vera was injured so seriously, he suffered brain damage and remembers only flashes of what happened.

Vera, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, is not sure exactly when or where he was attacked, but thinks it was near his home. He came to after the attack and returned to his family. Two days later, his wife says she took him to Woodhull Hospital where he was given headache medicine and released.

But the headaches and difficulty doing basic tasks got worse. It was almost three weeks before his wife realized just how seriously he was hurt.

"The event happened on 9/23. His wife comes to the police on October 9. Since that time, we've been aggressively investigating this incident," Kelly said.

The Mexican Consul-General says they trust the NYPD will find the attackers. In the meantime, they're there to help.

"That's why we're in contact with the family. We will see what we can do to ensure the well being of them," said Consul-General Ruben Beltran.

Anyone with information about the case is being asked to contact Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-577-TIPS, by texting TIP577 to CRIMES, or by going to NYPDCrimeStoppers.com.