Washington boy, 15, is arrested over random attack on Asian couple which left man with a broken rib after video of the attack was seen on TV by the victims' daughter
A teenager was arrested Friday for a random attack on an Asian couple in November, after footage of the attack resurfaced online and was seen on the news by the victims' daughter.
The attack took place on November 19, 2020 in the late afternoon, in Tacoma, Washington - a suburb of Seattle.
The attack began when the suspect intentionally bumped into the male victim as the couple was walking home, court documents allege.
The suspect, who has not been named by police, then allegedly began punching the male victim, ultimately breaking one of his ribs.
The incident was reported to police at the time, but footage of the attack only emerged online recently, KING 5 reports.
The daughter of the victims called police after seeing the footage shown on the news.
A teen is under arrest over the November assault of an Asian couple
The suspect, who is 15 years old now but was only 14 at the time of the assault, was identified with the help of tips from the community, police said.
The minor faces a second-degree assault charge and his first court appearance was scheduled for Friday. He has not been charged with a hate crime at this time.
The initial report alleged that there were two young Black suspects, though only one person was arrested on Friday.
No motive has been given in the attack.
According to KOMO News, the suspect had a detention hearing scheduled for Friday on an unrelated robbery charge, which is where he was taken into custody.
In an interview with KIRO 7, the male victim said 'I just don’t understand why I was attacked'.
The victim also expressed forgiveness to his attacker and asked him to grow from the incident.
The arrest comes amid an increase in anti-Asian violence in the United States.
Last month, six Asian women were among eight people killed during a series of mass shootings in the Atlanta area.
A different motive than hate has been provided in the case, but investigators are still looking at the possibility of a hate crime.
In the video, the suspect can be seen punching an Asian man, leaving him with a broken rib
The suspect in the case has not yet been charged with a hate crime in the incident
Earlier this week, a man was charged with a hate crime in New York City after kicking an elderly Asian women to the ground, then repeatedly kicking her as onlookers watched.
Brandon Elliot was charged with two charges of second-degree assault as a hate crime and one count of first-degree attempted assault as a hate crime.
A spike in hate crimes against Asian-Americans has been reported since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic prompted shutdowns.
Much of the anti-Asian sentiment has been attributed to inflammatory language about the Covid-19 pandemic, which was dubbed the "China virus" by former president Donald Trump.
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday ordered a review of how the Justice Department can best deploy its resources to combat hate crimes during a surge in incidents targeting Asian-Americans.
Garland issued a department-wide memo announcing the 30-day review, citing the 'recent rise in hate crimes and hate incidents, particularly the disturbing trend in reports of violence against members of the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community since the start of the pandemic.'
Joe Biden announced recently that $49.5 million from COVID-19 relief funds would go towards programs that help victims of anti-Asian violence.
