Washington Man Sentenced for Hate Crime Charge After Stabbing a Black Woman Metro Bus Passenger

A Washington man was sentenced today to a federal hate crime charge for violently assaulting and stabbing a Black female passenger because of her race. Adan Hernandez-Mayoral was sentenced to 54 months in prison and three years of supervised release for an incident in which he used a dangerous weapon, a knife, to cause bodily injury to the victim because of her race and color.

According to court documents, Adan C. Hernandez-Mayoral boarded a King County Metro bus on March 7, 2024, and immediately began making racially charged comments about Black people. Hernandez-Mayoral started antagonizing the victim, a Black woman, and yelled, "I don't like Black people, f***in' hate 'em." The defendant referred to the woman as "Rosa Parks" and told her to move to the back of the bus. When the woman attempted to move away from him, Hernandez-Mayoral followed her, while hiding a knife behind his back. When the bus doors opened at a stop, Hernandez-Mayoral grabbed the woman, pushing her off the bus and into a fence. He immediately began beating her all over her body. He stomped on her after she fell to the ground. He then used the knife to repeatedly and violently stab the woman. The victim was wearing a thick coat, sparing her from more serious injuries. Hernandez-Mayoral fled the scene but was located and arrested by officers from the Kent Police Department later that evening.

"Today, we have delivered justice with the sentencing of Adan Hernandez-Mayoral for his brutal, racially motivated attack on the victim," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "Assaults like these destroy our communities by breeding fear and distrust of public places and facilities. The Justice Department will continue to aggressively prosecute such cases to restore safety and confidence in our cities' streets and transit systems."

"Racially motivated attacks such as this one shock the conscience of our community," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd for the Western District of Washington. "This office will join with our state and local partners to ensure these crimes are investigated and those who commit them will be held accountable. Such hate has no place here."

"The victim in this case was minding her own business on a familiar public transit route when a stranger made offensive comments about her race, threw her off the stopped bus, and then brutally assaulted her with a knife," said Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington of the FBI Seattle Field Office. "Together with our partners like the Kent Police Department, the FBI will hold accountable those like Mr. Hernandez-Mayoral who engage in violent hate crimes."

"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 Chief Rafael Padilla of the Kent Police Department. "I am pleased to have reached this conviction on her behalf. Hate-fueled violence has no place in Kent."

On Dec. 23, 2025, Hernandez-Mayoral pleaded guilty to Hate Crime Causing Bodily Injury.

The case was investigated by the Kent Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica M. Manca for the Western District of Washington and Trial Attorney Tenette Smith of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, with valuable assistance from the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.