Oakland Police Arrest Suspect in Attack on Elderly Asian Man

It's just the latest in a series of unprovoked attacks on Asian-Americans
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 10, 2021 3:22 AM CST
Arrest Made in Brutal Attack on 91-Year-Old Asian Man
Yahya Muslim   (Alameda County Sheriff’s Office)

Surveillance video last month captured a very disturbing incident in Oakland, California's Chinatown, where a man walking down the sidewalk came up behind an elderly Asian man and pushed him over, violently and unprovoked. (Watch the video here, but note that it is disturbing.) Now, a suspect has been arrested, the Guardian reports. Yahya Muslim, 28, is accused of three attacks in Chinatown on Jan. 31 and has been charged with assault and battery and elder abuse; the other alleged victims were a 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman, who was knocked unconscious. All three were treated at local hospitals. Authorities say hate crime charges could be added if the attacks are found to have been racially motivated, CBS San Francisco reports.

"The skyrocketing number of hate crimes against Asian Americans continues to grow, despite our repeated pleas for help. The crimes ignored and even excused," tweeted actor Daniel Dae Kim, who, along with Daniel Wu, offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case. The shocking video sparked outrage across the nation, particularly because it is just one in a number of similar attacks on Asians amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a tragic case last month in San Francisco, an 84-year-old Thai man was run down in a similar fashion, knocked to the ground, and ultimately died of his injuries. Antoine Watson, 19, and Malaysia Goo, 20, are charged in that attack. A group of citizens has started patrolling Chinatown in an effort to protect potential targets, KTVU reports. Bay Area reporter Dion Lim is documenting incidents on Instagram. (More Oakland stories.)

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