New York man pleads guilty to hate crime against Jamaican-American woman

Scott Schunzel, 33, has pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime charge following a racially motivated attack in Newburgh, New York. The incident occurred on June 18, 2024, when Schunzel stabbed a 59-year-old Jamaican-American woman near a parked fruit truck.

The victim sustained a deep wound to her left hamstring and required hospital treatment. Following the attack, law enforcement searched Schunzel’s residence and discovered materials expressing hostility toward Black people, including writings regarding the killing and stabbing of Black women.

Schunzel fled to Florida after the incident but was arrested by FBI agents in Miami. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, with the final sentence to be determined by a judge.