The man who stabbed two elderly Asian women in San Francisco is facing multiple charges including premeditated attempted murder.
The two elderly Asian women, aged 84 and 63. were waiting at the bus stop near 4th and Stockton Street on Tuesday at 4:50pm when the suspect attacked them with a knife.
84-year-old Chui Fong was struck in the lung and ribcage by the knife. Her injuries were deemed to be life-threatening at the the time.
Fortunately, doctors told Fong’s family that she was expected to survive after four hours in surgery. The 63-year-old also sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Patrick Thompson, 54, has since been arrested and charged with two counts of premeditated attempted murder and two counts of elder abuse, with enhancements for great bodily injury, great bodily injury on elders and personal use of a deadly weapon, in the “brutal” knife attack.
San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin said it is working with the police to see if any other charges can be applied including hate crime.
Thompson had previously been found incompetent to stand trial during court proceedings for several cases in 2017. He was arrested for missing court and for possessing a drug pipe.
In October 2018, he participated in a mental health diversion program. A judge then granted him permission to leave the program after two years and did not charge him with any new offences.
“What happened is a devastating tragedy, and we will use the full force of our office’s resources to prosecute this case. We also need to work hard to stop the next crime from happening, and that involves prevention and treatment,” Boudin’s office said in a statement.
“We need far more intensive tools that keep people who are mentally ill treated and supported so that they do not reoffend even when there is no pending criminal case.”
There has been a recent rise in attacks against Asians including an Asian “anti-masker” who was stabbed and killed in Washington.
In another incident, 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.
