The assailant admitted to "trying to kill the victim because of his ethnicity"
A racist man has been charged with a hate crime after attacking an Asian American cyclist with a rock in San Francisco.
As reported by Berkeleyside, a man in downtown Berkeley, San Francisco was charged for using a rock to strike down an Asian American cyclist.
Jeffrey Frazier Pachingger, 38, attacked the victim who was unlocking his bike at the bike racks at Shattuck Avenue and Center Street. The victim lost “a large amount of blood” and was taken to the hospital after the attack according to Fugitive Watch.
Pachingger, who is reported to be homeless, turned himself in at the Berkeley Police Department. He was arrested on the suspicion of attempted murder.
Officer Byron White said it was categorised as a hate crime because Pachingger had “made statements indicating the crime was motivated because of the victim’s race.”
SF Gate reports that Officer Jason Muniz who interviewed Pachinnger said the assailant had “admitted to willfully trying to kill the victim because of his ethnicity and his belief of ‘an Asian takeover’.”
He also “admitted that he hit the victim with a rock because he was trying to kill him” and had “admitted that his malice toward the victim was due to the victim’s ethnicity,” according to Muniz.
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office charged Pachingger with assault with a deadly weapon instead of attempted murder and also charged him with battery with serious bodily injury.
Pachingger is being held without bail at Berkeley Jail in lieu of $130,000 bail. He is scheduled to return to court on Friday to enter a plea.