Shocking video shows the moment a man attacked a woman wearing a face mask on the New York City subway and called her a 'diseased b****' in what police are treating as a possible hate crime motivated by coronavirus fears.

The violent altercation occurred on Sunday evening at the Grand Street subway station in Chinatown, according a woman named Gin who posted the video on Twitter.

The witness said the victim was sitting on a stairwell minding her own business when the man confronted her about her yellow face mask.

He allegedly called her a 'diseased b****' before hitting her over the head and then walking toward his train.

Gin began filming as the victim ran after her attacker, who turned around and made a failed attempt to kick her.

The pair frantically exchanged blows as the man knocked the victim into a wall.

He is then heard screaming: 'Don't f**king touch me! Don't f**king touch me, n****r,' at the woman filming as she tried to pull him away.

Shocking video shows a man attacking a woman wearing a face mask on the New York City subway in what police are treating as a possible hate crime motivated by coronavirus fears

A witness named Gin filmed the violent altercation at the Grand Street subway station in Chinatown on Sunday evening. She said the victim was minding her own business when the man confronted her about her face mask and hit her over the head

The alleged victim is seen chasing her attacker before the pair engaged in a brawl

Gin said she couldn't tell if the victim was Asian or not, as her face was obscured by a yellow mask, glasses and the hood of her coat.

She said she was shocked when the woman pursued her attacker.

'Ultimately, both parties had a fault, but the situation escalated with racial tension,' Gin wrote in a Twitter thread explaining the confrontation.

She said the victim refused an offer of help after the attack, which left her with a bloody lip and a cut on her forehead.

The NYPD's hate crimes unit shared the video on Twitter in hopes of encouraging the victim to come forward and file a complaint.

'The hope is a family member or the individual sees this and says: 'Oh, I should report this now.' Enough traction has been made by the public,' an NYPD spokesperson said.

Gin suggested that the attack was motivated by public panic surrounding coronavirus, the deadly disease that's killed 493 people and sickened more than 24,500 worldwide since the outbreak began in China in late December.

'It's incredible how much hysteria the Coronavirus news has created, please be safe out there y'all,' Gin wrote.

'Wearing a mask in NYC right now marks you as a target. please be careful, and stand up for your friends.'

The MTA said when it became aware of the video it shared it with the NYPD.

An MTA statement added: 'The MTA has no tolerance for bias or hate-based attacks. We recently launched an anti-hate campaign to encourage victims and witnesses to report these crimes, and to encourage tolerance that should minimize such unacceptable conduct in the first place.'