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Asian woman, 82, shoved from behind in Vancouver; 1 person arrested in possible hate crime

Attacks against people of Asian descent have increased sharply during the pandemic

Vancouver police say a person has been arrested after an 82-year-old Asian woman was shoved from behind in Vancouver on Friday (Sept. 24).

At a news conference Monday, Const. Tania Visintin said that the victim is “only suffering a sore arm, physically” but that support services were offered to the elderly woman. The incident happened near East King Edward Avenue and Fraser Street as the woman was walking to a bus stop. A 33-year-old suspect has been arrested.

Visintin said that the police department has begun an investigation to determine if the incident was a hate crime, noting the rise in anti-Asian violence since the beginning of the pandemic.

“She did only suffer from a sore arm but when you’re in this situation, randomly attacked the way this woman was, it’s heartbreaking to hear,” she said. “It must be very frightening for her, very traumatic.”


@katslepian

katya.slepian@bpdigital.ca

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