NEW YORK (PIX11) --- A man was convicted of a hate crime after slashing a Muslim man near a halal food cart in Manhattan two years ago, authorities said Thursday.
Gino Sozio, 40, yelled "This is my country. Go back to your country” before attacking the 22-year-old New Jersey man at the corner of East 29th Street and Fifth Avenue in December 2022, prosecutors said.
The victim and his friends were waiting for their food near the halal cart when Sozio came up to them and began cursing at the group at around 2 a.m. A fight broke out and one of the victim's friends punched Sozio before he pulled a knife and cut the victim across his abdomen, authorities said. The man needed surgery for his injury.
The group disarmed Sozio and held him until police arrived. While they waited, Sozio yelled "terrorists" and "halal motherf—s," prosecutors said.
A jury Wednesday convicted Zozio of attempted assault as a hate crime, assault as a hate crime, and criminal possession of a weapon. He will be sentenced on May 3.
The victim testified at the trial.
“Instead of walking away from a dispute, Sozio went on an appalling racist and anti-Muslim tirade and took out a knife, seriously injuring the victim who is still in pain to this day," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the New York City area for more than a decade. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.
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