California’s Chinatown on edge after robberies, assaults on elderly during COVID lockdowns

Police said the suspect later approached a 60-year-old man and 55-year-old woman on the same street and pushed them from behind as they were walking. The woman lost consciousness and the man suffered injuries. Both received medical attention at a local hospital.

Actors Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu were offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect responsible for the assaults. Both have spoken out in recent weeks about the growing number of attacks on Asian Americans.

“The skyrocketing number of hate crimes against Asian Americans continues to grow, despite our repeated pleas for help,” Wu tweeted on Feb. 4.

Muslim was arrested last week and is currently in custody at the Santa Rita Jail, KRON 4 reported.

Police also said they have a video showing another male suspect — identified as Deveion Lamont Byrd — robbing an 80-year-old woman of $200 and running away. Byrd is also the prime suspect in a string of other robberies at different businesses in the area, police said.

𝟳𝟬-𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗠𝗔 𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗘𝗗 & 𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗕𝗘𝗗: Not again!
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A young woman told me her grandma was robbed while coming home from the bank February 3rd around 11am. 6th Avenue and International Boulevard in Oakland. pic.twitter.com/eqbDPL3jbx

— Dion Lim (@DionLimTV) February 8, 2021

The assaults follow a general pattern of violence being committed against Asians – both residents and merchants – in Oakland’s Chinatown. The surge has led residents to call on local leaders and police to do more to quell the violence.

Carl Chan, president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, said during a press conference last week that young people have started carrying guns for their safety.

“So they’re also hurting people before they’re being robbed,” Chan said.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf denounced the “intentional targeting” of Asian merchants and residents as “abhorrent.”

“We will do everything within our power and resources to put an end to it,” she said.

Newly sworn-in Oakland Police Chief Leronne Armstrong called the escalation of violence in Oakland “unacceptable.”

“Today, we’re sending a message to those who commit crimes in this city, that we will pursue you, and we will arrest you,” Armstrong said on Monday.

Despite the surge in crime, Oakland city leaders have for months called for defunding the police — a mantra that spread to major metropolitan areas nationwide last summer after the police custody death of George Floyd.

In December, the department made cuts that eliminated details that put extra officers in high crime areas, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Barry Donelan, president of the Oakland Police Officers’ Association has blamed the City Council’s “defund the police” strategy on the city’s accelerated violent crime rate.