Police arrested a man who they say is suspected of stabbing two Asian American women on Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco's Mid-Marke...
Police arrested a man who they say is suspected of stabbing two Asian American women on Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco's Mid-Market area.
Officers were sent to 4th and Stockton streets shortly before 5 p.m. and found the wounded women, who were taken to San Francisco General hospital.
Sources told ABC one of the women was bleeding profusely, while the other still had a knife in her arm when they were found by police.
They were both in a stable condition in the hospital's ICU after having surgery on Tuesday night.
Police arrested a man who they say is suspected of stabbing two Asian American women without warning on Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco's Mid-Market area
Officers were sent to 4th and Stockton streets, where the found the two injured women shortly before 5 p.m.
The women were 65 and 85, authorities said, and were waiting for the bus when they were attacked.
Witnesses told KPIX-TV that a man clutching a knife was walking down Market Street when he approached a bus stop, stabbed the women, and then walked away.
A 54-year-old San Francisco man was arrested on suspicion of committing the attack several hours later, police told the station.
Witnesses said the suspect had used a military-style knife, with knuckles on the handle and holes in the blade, to carry out the attack.
Witness Patricia Lee told ABC: 'I'm kind of worried because my back was turned, it could have been me instead'.
She explained one of the women was stabbed from behind.
'All I could see was the feathers coming out of her jacket, so I'm very sure that she got sliced'.
Lee added the suspect did not flee the scene, 'he walked away like nothing happened, like Sunday morning.'
Witness Patricia Lee told ABC the suspect had 'walked away' from the scene 'like nothing happened'
Police didn't immediately indicate whether the women were specifically targeted or whether the attack might be a hate crime.
One of the women was bleeding profusely, while the other still had a knife in her arm when they were found by police on Tue
Police didn't immediately indicate whether the women were specifically targeted or whether the attack might be a hate crime.
Asian Americans have been the target of several unprovoked attacks in the San Francisco Bay Area in recent months.
Prosecutors have filed assault and hate crime charges against a man accused of an attack last week in which he allegedly yelled racial slurs before knocking down Carl Chan, president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce.
In separate San Francisco attacks in March, an 83-year-old Vietnamese man was knocked down and broke his neck in the fall, and a 77-year-old woman was similarly attacked. Police arrested a man for assault and elder abuse in both cases.
Another 83-year-old man was pushed down in February, broke a hip and spent weeks in the hospital and in rehabilitation.
Researched published by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University showed a surge in Asian hate crimes across the country.
The research compared data from the first quarter of 2021 and the same period in 2020 across 15 major cities, including San Francisco.
The two women were both in a stable condition in the hospital's ICU after having surgery on Tuesday night
In April, the US senate passed an anti-Asian hate crimes bill in a vote of 94 to 1. The legislation aims to help law enforcement combat the rising number of hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Meanwhile, a recent Pew Research study found around one-third of Asian American fear someone might threaten or physically attack them.
And, one-fifth believed the rise in hate crimes was directly related to former President Donald Trump and his rhetoric on China.
Last month, US President Joe Biden appointed Erika Moritsugu as the administration's Asian American and Pacific Islander senior liaison amid the spike in hate crimes.
Also in April, the US senate passed an anti-Asian hate crimes bill in a vote of 94 to 1. The legislation aims to help law enforcement combat the rising number of hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
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