A Los Angeles jail inmate is facing hate crime charges after attacking a female Asian American custody worker.
Arnulfo Meza, 29, attacked the unnamed 54-year-old woman at the Los Angeles County sheriff’s Inmate Reception Center on Wednesday.
The victim had when tried to hand him toilet paper when Meza launched his unprovoked attack.
CCTV footage shows Meza punching the victim in the face, causing her to fall down. He then repeatedly punches her in the face as she lays on the ground, before casually walking towards a stretcher and waiting for guards to restrain him.
The county Sheriff’s Department revealed Meza’s left hand was freed from his waist chain as he had requested to use the restroom.
It added that the victim was taken to hospital with face and head injuries.
Meza has since been taken to a high-security area and could face charges of assault and committing a hate crime.
The suspect had been arrested Monday night in suburban El Monte on suspicion of committing a felony.
There has been a recent rise in attacks against Asians including a man who racially abused an Asian American detective is now facing a lawsuit.
A suspect was also arrested for robbing and stabbing an Asian man in San Francisco.
Another a suspect was arrested for stomping on a 61-year-old man’s head in Harlem.
Meanwhile, charges against the man who spat at and punched an 83-year-old Korean grandmother have been dropped.
Elsewhere, the president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce was racially abused and physically attacked. The suspect has since been arrested.
Additionally, three people were arrested for a burglary spree targeting 26 Asian business owners in Colorado and Wyoming in 2019.
An Asian father was also attacked in San Francisco whilst walking his 1-year-old child and an Asian American teen was left concussed after being punched at a basketball game in Oakland.
In San Francisco, an 85-year-old Asian grandmother and a 65-year-old Asian woman were stabbed whilst waiting for the bus.
Most recently, an Asian shop owner has been punched in the face by a racist customer in Washington DC.
