The attacker used a racial slur applied to Chinese people
A 70-year-old Mexican American woman was attacked and hospitalized in LA after being mistaken for an Asian woman.
According to Asian Dawn and The Eastsider, the incident occurred on a Metro bus last week when the woman was attempting to get off the bus.
Identified only as Becky, the elderly woman was heading towards a Vons supermarket to shop for her granddaughter when another passenger began shouting abuse at her.
The attacker, described as a black woman aged 25 to 30, called the woman a racial slur typically used against Chinese people.
According to the victim’s son, their family is often mistaken for being Asian despite being Mexican American.
Being dragged from the back to the front of the bus, the elderly woman was severely beaten and was left with swollen eyes, a broken nose, a concussion and her hair pulled out.
“Nobody would help. Not even the bus driver,” Pete said. A passenger eventually called 911, ultimately ending the assault.
The suspect was later arrested on another bus after the police issued a bulletin.
LAPD Officer M. Hernandez said the suspect remains in custody.
The victim was held in the hospital for 24 hours and released but has difficulty walking. She had already suffered from lupus arthritis and other disabilities, and suffered further injuries to her leg in the incident.
The incident follows a surge in attacks on Asian Americans across the country, including an Asian woman who was hit in the face in Philadelphia.
In California, Vietnamese family was tied up in their own home by robbers who stole their entire life savings in Oakland, California.
Also in California, an elderly Asian American woman was kicked in the face by a suspect who was on parole for fatally stabbing his mother.
Meanwhile, a Japanese American man was randomly punched in the face whilst walking in Washington D.C.
In San Francisco, a 19-year-old Asian hate crime victim was shot in the eye. and in LA, a 28-year-old Asian mother died in a fatal shooting in Compton.
Also in San Francisco, an Asian woman was attacked and dragged by a getaway car.
Additionally, a 13-year-old boy was racially attacked in Flushing.
An Asian American mother was also stabbed to death by a homeless woman in Riverside, and a woman in Seattle was arrested and charged with a hate crime for threatening her Asian American neighbour.
Most recently, a racist woman was caught making racist comments on a picture of a 2-year-old Asian girl.