WA man sentenced for racist attack on Black woman on King County bus

An Auburn man was sentenced Tuesday to 4 ½ years in prison for a hate crime after assaulting and stabbing a Black woman on a bus in Kent.

On March 7, 2024, Adan Hernandez-Mayoral got on a King County Metro bus and began making racist remarks about Black people, according to a news release by the U.S. Department of Justice.

On the bus, Hernandez-Mayoral started antagonizing a Black woman, including telling her to move to the back of the bus," according to the release. The woman tried to move away, and later, when the bus came to a stop and opened its doors, Hernandez-Mayoral pushed the woman off the bus and began beating her up.

"He then used the knife to repeatedly and violently stab the woman," according to the release. "The victim was wearing a thick coat, sparing her from more serious injuries.

Officers from the Kent Police Department found and arrested Hernandez-Mayoral later that day. He pleaded guilty in December to a hate crime causing bodily injury.

"This was a horrific and deeply disturbing racially motivated assault that targeted an innocent member of our community because of the color of her skin," said police Chief Rafael Padilla in the news release. "I am pleased to have reached this conviction on her behalf. Hate-fueled violence has no place in Kent."

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