Burnaby RCMP are investigating a concerning assault after an elderly Asian woman was randomly tripped while walking near a SkyTrain station.
The incident happened on April 3, police said in a statement on Thursday (May 28). It’s unclear why it has taken more than two months for the incident to be made public.
Mounties released surveillance footage detailing the incident, which shows the 84-year-old elderly woman walking on Central Boulevard near Metrotown Skytrain Station. A woman can be seen walking behind the elderly woman before sticking her leg out and tripping her.
The senior was “shaken and thankfully not seriously injured,” police said.
The suspect is described as possibly being of Asian descent, with dark brown hair. At the time she was wearing a face mask, black tights, a long dark puffy jacket and light shoes. She was seen carrying a beige purse.
While Mounties don’t believe the attack was racially motivated, investigators aren’t ruling it out amid an uptick in anti-Asian crime being seen in other Lower Mainland cities.
Burnaby police officers have responded to calls in recent weeks involving racial slurs, as well as a business being tagged with racist graffiti.
Anyone with information is asked to call Burnaby RCMP at 604-646-9999, or Crime Stoppers to remain anonymous.
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