A graphic video shows the moment when a 91-year-old man was pushed to the ground in Oakland’s Chinatown, while community leaders warned that the area was hit by a wave of violent crime.
The attacker, wearing a black hood and mask, is caught on CCTV throwing the elderly man on the ground and almost on the road, outside the Asian Resource Center in the Bay Area, California.
After fleeing, the suspect pushed a man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s, who lost consciousness due to their injuries, the Oakland Police Department said.
All were treated at a local hospital before being released.
The incident is one of more than 20 in recent months that community leaders say is a wave of crimes against Asians.
The Oakland Police Department released the CCTV of a 91-year-old man being pushed violently to the ground by a masked hooded figure in the city’s Chinatown district
The suspect is seen pushing the elderly man, who walks alone, to the ground
The man falls to his knees before his face hits the pavement. The suspect keeps walking
With an arm up, the hooded figure walks well before attacking a man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s who lost consciousness when he hit his head. All victims were treated at the hospital for injuries
Community leaders warn that an increasing number of attacks, like this man, are taking place in Chinatown and have called for more police protection
Carl Chan, president of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, alerted residents at a news conference on Wednesday that the neighborhood is under attack and called for more police protection before the Lunar New Year celebrations on February 12.
Chan added: ‘Unfortunately, they are not only robbing people, but people are also being hurt.’
Residency group board member Chiu Szeto said: ‘We live in fear every day’, and that he fears that some of the attacks are racially motivated against Asian Americans as a result of the pandemic.
Captain Bobby Hookfin of the Oakland Police Department said at the press conference: ‘They seem to be more violent for whatever reason and that is why we need to stop this now’, as reported by ABC7 News.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf: ‘I want to start by apologizing to the victims of these heinous crimes’, before criticizing the actions of some on Oakland City Council to cut the city police budget by up to 50%.
Community leaders gave a news conference on Wednesday to raise awareness of the attacks in Chinatown and call for more protection
She added: ‘I didn’t forget that last summer, they brought a proposal to cut $ 25 million from the Oakland police department as a political statement, not because of an operational or financial need.’
Oakland Police Department Captain Bobby Hookfin, pictured, said the attacks on Chinatown are getting ‘more violent’
More than 20 small business incidents being stolen and battered owners, customers and residents have been reported in recent months, Chan said.
In another video starting in January, a suspect enters a herb store in Chinatown run by women, before stealing money and fleeing.
A woman was reportedly shot with a flare while walking down the street.
An Oakland resident, Jacob Azevedo, is resolving the matter with his own hands, in order to support the city’s elderly in the midst of these attacks.
He launched a GoFundMe, raising $ 11,000 to buy personal alarm systems for vulnerable members of the community.
‘Help us to make our elderly community here in Oakland feel a little safer to walk on the street !!’ Jacob said in the post.
He added: ‘I was sick of watching all these videos against the Asian American community here.’