An elderly San Francisco man was brutally attacked along Market Street on Monday after, resulting in grave injuries and prompting officials to transfer him to the hospital for treatment.
Police officers said the 59-year-old Asian man was originally from Vallejo. They revealed the victim was out on a walk on the 600 block of Market when the suspect attacked. One witness said they saw the criminal run to the Asian man before punching him in the head multiple times.
Hate Crime Surge
Authorities said the witness fled the scene of the crime by getting on a Muni bus. They were not immediately able to provide a description of the individual. While police declined to identify the victim, his family started an online fundraiser for resident Danny Yu Chang.
The victim’s family said Chang was going back to work after taking his lunch break before he was attacked by the suspect. They said that due to the injuries he sustained to his head and face, the victim became partially blind.
“I cannot see on my left eye, it’s still so bad I cannot see anything. On my right, it’s okay> I hope I don’t lose my vision here,” Chang said.
While police initially reported the victim sustained life-threatening injuries, Chang’s family said he only suffered severe injuries.
Chang’s case is the most recent in a series of surging attacks and violence focused on Asians in California since the beginning of the pandemic. Many of the victims of the crimes have been seniors, some of which have also resulted in deaths, such as the murder of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee in late January.
Asian American communities across the Bay Area have banded together and are calling out the government to support the victims of the rising crimes. Many rallies have marched through the streets and urged the use of more than $1.4 million in state funding to avoid and track and incidents, CBS Local reported.
Over the past year, the group “Stop APPI Hate” said there have been nearly 4,000 hate crimes targeting Asians across the United States. They said the reported crimes are much less than the actual number of incidents that have occurred.
