Grandmother dies two months after being struck in the head with a rock in random NYC attack

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A grandmother who was randomly attacked in New York City has died after spending several months in a coma.

GuiYing Ma, 61, was hit in the head with a rock after she got into an argument with a passerby in Queens last November. Ms Ma was reportedly sweeping the sidewalk of a nearby empty property when the attack occurred.

Elisaul Perez, 33, was arrested in connection with the attack, according to the New York Daily News. He faces charges including assault with intent to disfigure and dismember, assault with intent to seriously injure someone with a weapon, and criminal possession of a weapon.

Police reports allege that Mr Perez knocked Ms Ma unconscious with a rock before hitting her again while she was bleeding on the ground.

The injury caused Ms Ma to slip into a coma for several months, but she awoke on 8 February, 10 weeks after the attack. After waking up she found she was able to move some parts of her body and reportedly waved to her husband when she regained some motor function.

Unfortunately, Ms Ma passed away on 22 February.

A medical examiner ruled Ms Ma's cause of death a homicide stemming from a traumatic head injury.

Mr Perez has pleaded not guilty. He was also suspected by the NYPD of having committed a hate crime, but the department never filed related charges. His next court date will be 12 April.

A GoFundMe has been established for Ms Ma which has so far raised more than $182,000.

Ms Ma's death comes almost two months after the death of another older Asian-American who was beaten and killed in an unprovoked attack.

Yao Pan Ma, also 61, died from injuries he sustained after allegedly being beaten by 50-year-old Jarrod Powell.

Mr Ma also spent months in the hospital before he ultimately succumbed to his injuries. That attack was treated as a hate crime by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The attacks were indicative of a rising trend of anti-Asian violence inflamed by the coronavirus pandemic. The NYPD created its Asian Hate Crime Task Force to combat the wave of violence aimed at Asians and Asian-Americans.

According to Stop Hate AAPI, which tracks incidents of racism and discrimination against Asian-Americans, between 19 March 2020 and 30 September, 2021, there were more than 10,000 hate incidents aimed at Asian Americans and people with Pacific Islander heritage.