The New York City Police Department is set to announce its formation of an Asian hate crime task force to investigate the rise of attacks against people of Asian descent since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison will make an announcement on the formation of the task force later Tuesday afternoon. The latest incidents include an 89-year-old woman who was slapped and had her shirt set on fire last month in Brooklyn and another woman who was the subject of verbal anti-Asian sentiments on the subway.

Police have not said whether the attack against the elderly woman in Brooklyn is being investigated as a hate crime and they are still searching for the suspects. The victim wasn't seriously injured in the attack.