Suspect sought in vicious bus attack
Man punched victim, ripped out her hair after she stepped up to defend Asian passengers, officer says
Transit Police are asking the public to help identify a man who they allege ripped hair from a woman’s scalp, kicked and punched her after she told him to stop harassing two Asian passengers.
On April 15, a man boarded a bus at Main and East Hastings streets in Vancouver, followed a short time later by two Asian women wearing protective masks.
Const. Mike Yake of the Transit Police alleged the man then directed his attention toward the two Asian women and made a comment to the effect of: “Go back to your own country, that’s where it all began.”
“During this time, there was a woman who was sitting across from the man, and she simply told the man to leave the two women alone,” said Yake.
Police say the man then began arguing with and threatening the woman who intervened, eventually kicking her in the leg. When the woman stood up to defend herself, police say, the man grabbed “a significant amount of hair” and ripped it from the woman’s scalp before punching her several times, wrestling her to the floor of the bus, and pinning her down.
“Thankfully, she was able to fight back and get the suspect off her,” said Yake. “He ran out of the bus and was last seen in the area of Commercial Drive and East Hastings.”
The victim, who is not Asian, was bruised on her leg and suffered a scalp injury.
“This assault investigation has an obvious element of racism. However, it will be determined if the assault is considered a hate crime when the incident works its way through the court system,” said Yake.
Transit Police have released an image of the suspect that was caught on a smartphone, in hopes the public can identify him.
The man is described as white, aged 45-55, standing about five foot six and weighing 180 pounds with a stocky build. He was wearing a red baseball hat with a letter ‘V’ on it, a dark blue T-shirt, light grey sweat pants and blue shoes.
“All passengers have the right to feel safe and protected while using public transit,” said Yake. “There’s absolutely no place for racism or violence on our transit system.”
Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call the Transit Police tip line at 604-5167419, or text to 87-77-77 and cite File No. 2020-7645.
It’s the second assault in recent weeks aboard public transit and the third incident in Vancouver prompted by racist comments linked to COVID-19.
In late April, a woman who was a visible minority was attacked by a stranger aboard a SkyTrain after he stared at her and started screaming: “You people are why my daughter is sick!”
The man then punched her in the face several times before throwing her head against the seats.
Another April incident saw an elderly Asian man with dementia attacked by a white man after the suspect made racist remarks related to COVID-19.
Suspects have been identified in both April assaults.