Police investigating reported anti-Asian attack at Suns game
An Asian American man reported to Phoenix police that a beer bottle was thrown at him while he attended a Suns basketball game with his two children at Phoenix Suns Arena in downtown Phoenix, police officials confirmed on Wednesday.
The victim contacted police about 9:40 p.m. on Tuesday to report the attack. Phoenix police spokesperson Sgt. Mercedes Fortune said officers are attempting to obtain video of the incident and an investigation is ongoing, as incidents of anti-Asian violence are occurring nationwide.
Fortune said the incident may be “bias related.”
The incident was reported on Twitter the same night by Vicente Reid, the CEO of Arizona Asian Chamber of Commerce, an organization that serves the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in Arizona.
Reid, a friend of the victim, told The Arizona Republic he believes a hate crime was committed.
“It was completely unprovoked,” Reid said. “He was with his two young kids, and hears some guy shout ‘(expletive) Asians’ and he gets hit with a beer bottle.”
Reid said the victim was especially furious because the incident happened in front of his children, and he told Reid they were “traumatized.”
The Phoenix Suns released a statement against anti-Asian hate on social media on March 22.
On Wednesday the Suns responded on Twitter to the Tuesday incident. The team provided the same response as the Twitter post when contacted by The Republic.
However, the Suns did reply to Reid’s post on Twitter.
“@Ceoasian we are working closely with your friend and @phoenixpolice to thoroughly investigate the incident. Discrimination and hate crimes of any nature are not tolerated by @Suns or @PHXarena,” the tweet stated.
Suns coach Monty Williams spoke about the incident Wednesday.
“When these incidents pop up, it saddens me. Not because I’m a Black man. Because I am a man. I’m a human and human beings should treat each other like human beings. Sounds like that didn’t happen last night and it’s pretty sad,” Williams said.
The Republic spoke by telephone with the victim’s attorney who requested questions be sent by email. However, the attorney did not respond as of the time of publication.
Reid said the incident would make it difficult for him to go to any Suns games in the near future. He also said he would like sporting organizations and corporations in general to do more to help than just issue statements.
“Personally speaking it would be hard for me to attend a Suns game without knowing about more safety protocols being in place,” Reid said. “... It’s great to put out a social media post, but that doesn’t actually change anything. Unless you’re willingly working with us and providing dedicated resources to community organizations, it’s pointless.”
Reid said he believes that violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders has been happening for a long time but younger generations are now finding the courage to speak up about it.
“There is this younger generation, that refuses to stay silent,” Reid said. “Culturally speaking, as a community, we have been taught to keep quiet and work hard without talking about our issues and problems. But I think we’re done with that. We have to speak out about these atrocities happening in our communities.”
Violence targets community
The family of a Phoenix man who died after being punched in the face Feb. 16 said it believes he was targeted because he was Asian.
Juanito Falcon, who
is
originally from the Philippines, was walking home when, according to witnesses, a man came up and punched the 74year-old in the face.
Falcon fell to the ground, striking his head on the pavement near 17th Avenue and Bethany Home Road, near the parking lot of the Christown Spectrum Mall in Phoenix, according to court records. The man who punched Falcon got in a silver Nissan Altima and drove off.
Falcon fractured his skull and was rushed into surgery with bleeding on his brain, according to court records. He died two days later as a result of head injuries.
On March 3, Phoenix police arrested Marcus Williams, 41, of Tempe, and charged him with second-degree murder in connection with the death.
However, Sgt. Ann Justus, a Phoenix Police Department spokesperson, said the department does not have any evidence or information to indicate the homicide was motivated by bias.
More than 3,000 incidents of antiAsian hate, including 43 in Arizona, have been reported since March 19, 2020, according to Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University who oversees the Stop AAPI Hate Campaign.
The actual number of anti-Asian incidents is most likely much higher because many incidents go unreported, Jeung said.
In the Atlanta area on March 17, a gunman opened fire at three massage parlors, killing eight people, six of them women of Asian descent, according to USA TODAY.
At least four of the victims of the Atlanta-area massage parlor shootings were women of Korean descent, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, USA TODAY reported. Two others were of Asian descent, police said.
Investigators were still trying to determine if race played a role in the shootings. Police said the suspect, Robert Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock, Georgia, indicated he committed the shootings because of a sex addiction, USA TODAY reported.
Vigils decry anti-Asian attacks
Hundreds of people holding signs, toting coolers of snacks and wearing masks marched in Mesa Saturday to support Asian American communities victimized by harassment and hate.
Some signs had statements such as, “Love us like you love our food,” “Not your model minority, not your fetish, not another hate crime.” Others wore shirts that said, “Stop Asian hate.” Children were among the crowd.
The march began at Mekong Plaza and the crowd repeated organizers in chanting “Racism is a virus, you cannot divide us. Who keeps us safe? We keep us safe. Ain’t no power like the power of the people ‘cause the power of the people don’t stop.”
About 250 people gathered for a candlelight vigil against anti-Asian violence Friday in Phoenix in the wake of the deaths of eight people, mostly of Asian descent, killed in shootings Tuesday in Georgia.
The vigil at the state Capitol lawn hosted a mix of races showing solidarity against the recent spikes in bullying and hate crimes in the country.
The event hosted various singers and musicians who peppered in classical and cultural performances as the sun set on the Capitol. Attendees held candles and “Stop Asian Hate” signs throughout, as various leaders and citizens gave testimonies.
“We want to build bridges by sharing cross-cultural experiences and issues among other ethnicity and organizations,” said organizer Leezah Sun. “Because you know we’re not alone in this.”