Video shows attack on Asian couple; Tacoma police investigating it as hate crime
Tacoma police say they are investigating what appears to be a random attack on an Asian couple as a hate crime.
The investigation began after a video of the attack surfaced on social media.
It’s the second hate crime reported this week against an Asian resident in Tacoma. Nationwide, there have been reports of an increase in racially targeted violence against Asians during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Few details are known about the Tacoma attack captured on video. Somebody who saw the video on social media filed the police report late Tuesday.
“Detectives are trying to determine where it took place and when it took place and who all the involved parties are,” police spokeswoman Wendy Haddow said.
Police reported Thursday on Twitter that they had identified the couple. The couple filed a police report Nov. 19 about the assault but because it made no mention of the attack being racially motivated so police did not connect the two incidents until the victims’ daughter came forward after seeing the video.
Police believe the incident occurred in the city because a waste bin with the City of Tacoma logo can be seen in the 26-second clip, which appeared to be filmed by one of three young men involved in the attack.
The video shows an older couple walking on the sidewalk when a young man runs up to them and repeatedly punches the elderly man. The woman calls out for help in Korean and one of the attackers can be heard saying, “Gotcha.”
“A fist came flying in, hit me right here, and I started bleeding,” the man, who asked to remain anonymous, told KIRO-7.
Tacoma police are asking for anyone with information about the attack to call Tacoma-Pierce County Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
“We want to emphasize people should please call the Tacoma Police Department, not act on any information,” Haddow said. “We do not want one unfortunate event to lead to another unfortunate event.”
Police have said they haven’t seen a recent rise in hate crimes in Tacoma.
Last year, 24 hate crimes were investigated. There were 25 in 2019. So far this year, at least three have been reported, including the filmed attack.
Another was reported Wednesday but took place about 1 p.m. Monday in the 3900 block of Nassau Avenue East.
A 40-year-old woman who identifies as Asian-Pacific Islander was doing some pressure washing in her yard when she felt a rock hit her left thigh.
When she turned around, she saw two young men in a car with the windows rolled down. One of them held up a sign with anti-Asian rhetoric, police said, declining to provide details about the sign’s verbiage.
The woman was not seriously injured.
This story was originally published April 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
