‘Disgusting’ attacker punches Asian woman in face in Vancouver, amid spate of racist hate crimes
- The motive for the attack is unknown, but Vancouver police have said anti-Asian hate crime is on the rise amid the coronavirus pandemic
- There have been 20 anti-Asian hate crimes reported to police this year, 16 taking place in March or April
Vancouver police have launched a plea for help to identify a suspect who punched a young Asian woman to the ground, amid a spate of racist hate crimes in the west Canadian city.
Police said on Tuesday that the motivation for the “disgusting” attack, captured on closed-circuit TV, was not known, but it appeared to be unprovoked.
The silent video, filmed in downtown Vancouver on April 12, shows a young man veer towards his much smaller victim, who is wearing a dark hoodie. She glances up, the man punches her once in the face and she falls to the pavement, clutching her head as the man swiftly walks away.
“We are investigating this as a stranger assault and the motive is unknown,” said Sergeant Aaron Roed, a spokesperson for the Vancouver Police Department (VPD).
However, police say there has been a spike in anti-Asian hate crimes in Vancouver during the coronavirus pandemic. Twenty such crimes have been reported to police so far this year, compared to 12 in all of 2019. Sixteen of this year’s anti-Asian hate crime reports were made in March or April.
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Anti-Asian attacks increase in Canada since start of coronavirus pandemic