Book 'Em: Library Guards Help Arrest Hate Crime Suspect

East Village NY

03 March, 2022

10:19 AM

Description

LOWER MANHATTAN, NY — Two library guards' message to police after they helped collar a hate crime suspect? Book'm. Two quick-thinking New York Public Library guards helped police nab Steven Zajonc, 28, who stands accused of attacking seven Asian women in Lower Manhattan in just two hours, according to the library and police. Guard Roshanta Williams recognized Zajonc as a regular at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library on East 40th Street and Fifth Avenue soon after police released photos of a suspect to the media, a library spokesperson said. Williams alerted her senior officer, 22-year NYPL employee Elmirel Cephas, and the pair sprung into action when Zajonc walked into the library Wednesday afternoon, according to the library. Cephas immediately called 911 and then both kept tabs on Zajonc, who locked himself in a single bathroom on the seventh floor, until police arrived to make an arrest, the library said. "Our guards have the extremely challenging job," said Iris Weinshall, the Library's chief operating officer. "They do this extremely well every day, but today went above and beyond." Zajonc, 28, a Midtown resident, was charged with seven counts each of assault as a hate crime and aggravated harassment, police said. Police say Zajonc went on a two-hour attack rampage in Manhattan Sunday night during which he punched, elbowed, and pushed seven different Asian women. Read More: Man Attacks 7 Asian Women In 2 Hours, Including In East Village