A Black teen was assaulted at a Brooklyn subway station by a group of white attackers who peppered him with racial slurs, with one suspect throwing a banana at him, police said Wednesday.
The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the incident.
The 16-year-old victim initially said he did not need to see a doctor, police said, but he later was treated at South Brooklyn Health for minor injuries.
The suspects, believed to be between five and nine males, all white, are being sought.
The incident happened 8 a.m. Monday at the Stillwell Ave. subway station in Coney Island, police said, the terminus station where a 57-year-old woman was set afire and killed in December.
Police said the victim, who was on his way to school, was confronted by a group of strangers on the mezzanine level.
They mocked him with the N-word and assaulted him, striking him in the head then repeatedly punching and kicking him in his body, police said.
They also stole one of his sneakers, cops said, then ran off. The sneaker was later found in the station.
Video of the attack was later posted on Instagram, a police source said.
Bias crimes in the city are down 12% this year, to 108 from 123 at the same time last year, according to police statistics.
Nine of the victims are Black, the same number at this time last year.