NEW YORK, United States — A 33-year-old New York man has pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime charge for stabbing a 59-year-old Jamaican-American woman in a racially motivated attack in Newburgh, New York, in June 2024.
Scott Schunzel entered his guilty plea on October 22 before US District Judge Vincent Briccetti, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
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Prosecutors said Schunzel deliberately stabbed the woman because of her race and colour as she stood near a parked fruit truck on June 18, 2024.
The victim sustained a deep wound to her left hamstring and was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where she received stitches. Her identity has not been publicly disclosed.
Following the attack, law enforcement officers searched Schunzel’s residence and discovered writings and other materials expressing hostility towards Black people, including statements about killing and stabbing Black women.
Schunzel fled to Florida the following day but was subsequently arrested by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents in Miami.
US Attorney Jamie McDonald said the guilty plea demonstrated the seriousness with which authorities treat racially motivated violence.
“As he has now admitted, Scott Schunzel deliberately stabbed a Jamaican-American woman and longtime Newburgh resident with a knife because of her race and color,” McDonald said.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle Jr. said the plea acknowledged the harm suffered by the victim and underscored the importance of holding perpetrators of bias-motivated violence accountable.
Schunzel faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. The final sentence will be determined by the judge.
The prosecution was handled by the Civil Rights and Human Trafficking Unit of the US Attorney’s Office, with assistance from FBI offices in New York and Miami, the FBI Hudson Valley White Collar Crime Task Force, the Newburgh Police Department, the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department and the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office.
The case highlights continuing concerns about racially motivated violence in the United States and the importance of legal protections for victims targeted because of their race or ethnicity.
