Albany

An Army captain in military fatigues was verbally harassed and then punched in the face by a man standing behind him in a checkout line at Walmart, said police, who released video surveillance footage of the attack.

The incident occurred about 6 p.m. Thursday at the Walmart on Washington Avenue Extension. Police responded to a call for a fight in the store, said Officer Steven Smith, a police spokesman.

The assailant, Yiqiang Wu, 47, of Schenectady, was arrested at the store and charged with third-degree assault as a hate crime, Smith said. According to the victim, Wu began yelling derogatory statements about the United States and the soldier's military service as he waited in the checkout line behind the soldier.

Wu was arraigned Friday in the city's criminal court and released on $5,000 bail.

The Army officer, whose name was not released, suffered cuts and bruises and was treated at the scene by fire paramedics, Smith said.