Oakland’s Chinatown has experienced an increase in the number of robberies and assaults on residents – including the elderly – in recent months, according to several reports and the police.
The Oakland Police Department said it was allocating more resources and patrols to Chinatown ahead of the Lunar New Year on Friday amid a “recent spike in violent attacks” in recent months.
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley on Monday announced charges against Yahya Muslim, 28, in connection with an attack on three people – including a 91-year-old man – in Oakland late last month, informed KTVU FOX 2.
The video surveillance released by the police shows a suspect assaulting the man, as well as two 55- and 60-year-olds, at block 800 of Harrison Street on January 31.
In the first assault, the 91-year-old man can be seen walking down the street when a suspect comes up from behind and throws him aggressively to the ground. The man was transported to a local hospital by ambulance and treated for medical attention for his injuries.
Police said the suspect later approached a 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman on the same street and pushed them from behind as they walked. The woman lost consciousness and the man suffered injuries. Both received medical attention at a local hospital.
Actors Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu were offering a $ 25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect responsible for the assaults. Both spoke in recent weeks about the growing number of attacks on Asian Americans.
“The dizzying number of hate crimes against Americans of Asian origin continues to grow, despite our repeated calls for help,” Wu tweeted on February 4.
Muslim was arrested last week and is currently in custody at Santa Rita Prison, KRON 4 reported.
Police also said they had a video showing another male suspect – identified as Deveion Lamont Byrd – stealing $ 200 from an 80-year-old woman and running away. Byrd is also the prime suspect in a series of other thefts at different companies in the area, police said.
Another video of a recent attack shows a woman – described as a 70-year-old “grandmother” – being robbed on her way home from the bank.
The attacks follow a general pattern of violence against Asians – residents and traders – in Oakland’s Chinatown. The increase has prompted residents to call on local leaders and the police to do more to contain the violence.
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Carl Chan, president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, said at a news conference last week that young people began to carry weapons for their safety.
“So they are also hurting people before they are stolen,” said Chan.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf denounced the “intentional selection” of Asian traders and residents as “disgusting”.
“We will do everything in our power and resources to end this,” she said.
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The newly appointed Oakland police chief, Leronne Armstrong, called the escalating violence in Oakland “unacceptable”.
“Today, we are sending a message to those who commit crimes in this city, that we are going to chase them and we are going to arrest them,” said Armstrong on Monday.
Despite the rise in crime, Oakland city leaders have been asking for months to empty police funding – a mantra that spread to major metropolitan areas in the country last summer after George Floyd’s death in police custody.
In December, the department made cuts that eliminated details that placed extra police officers in high-crime areas, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.
Barry Donelan, president of the Oakland Police Officers Association, blamed the City Council’s strategy to “strip the police” of the city’s accelerated rate of violent crime.
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According to a Bay City News report, Oakland recorded 15 homicides last month – the highest number of murders recorded in January in 20 years.