Witnesses sought in alleged assault involving racial slurs in Richmond

RICHMOND (NEWS 1130) — A suspect has been arrested, but witnesses are now being sought to an alleged assault involving an Asian man and racial slurs in Richmond earlier this month.

RCMP officers responded to a report of an assault in progress at Steveston Highway and No. 5 Road around 2 p.m. on May 17.

The man alleged to have committed the assault had left the area before officers arrived, according police.

The victim of the assault, an Asian man, told officers he had parked his vehicle when a blue BMW pulled up beside him. The man inside the BMW allegedly started yelling racial slurs at him, RCMP says.

Both men then got out of their vehicles and the one from the BMW continued yelling racial slurs, police add.

“The complainant then got back into his vehicle and locked his doors, at which point the male continued making racist remarks while allegedly pounding on the complainant’s front passenger side window,” says a release from Richmond RCMP.

“As this continued, the complainant said he decided to exit his vehicle a second time to seek refuge in a local business. However, the male followed him, which is when the alleged assault occurred.”

RCMP canvassed the area for video surveillance, identified, then arrested a suspect in the days following.

Police now want to speak to people who were in the area at the time of the incident.

“An incident like this affects everyone in our community. While various evidence has been gathered, we want to hear from anyone who may have witnessed it,” says Cpl. Adriana Peralta, “We can also provide an opportunity for victim support, in many languages, and we are asking anyone who hasn’t already to come forward.”

The man arrested is described as a Caucasian man, about 5’8”, with an athletic build. He has very short hair that was greying on the side and spoke with an accent, police says.

He also wore a blue dress shirt, grey vest, and black dress slacks.

RCMP say all racially motivated incidents will be thoroughly investigated and that hate-motivated crimes are treated seriously.

Earlier this month, Vancouver police reported a “staggering” increase in the number of hate-related and anti-Asian crimes in the city so far this year.

The City of Vancouver also declared May Asian Heritage Month.

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