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An Asian couple in Oakland was assaulted and robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight on Wednesday outside a business in the city’s Little Saigon neighborhood, according to a local report.
The brazen attack took place near Ninth Avenue and International Boulevard around 1:30 p.m. and was first reported by KGO-TV anchor and reporter Dion Lim, who tweeted surveillance footage of the incident.
PSAKI BLAMES ‘HATE-FILLED RHETORIC’ ABOUT COVID-19 ORIGINS FOR HATE CRIMES AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS
Lim reported that the couple was sitting on a bench outside the business when two males approached them. The suspects can be heard on the video demanding the couple’s wallet and purse.
The male victim can be seen being pushed to the ground before the suspects flee in an apparent getaway car with the couple’s stolen items.
The brazen attack took place near Ninth Avenue and International Boulevard in Oakland's Little Saigon neighborhood just before 1:30 p.m., according to a local report. (Google Earth)
The business owner, who is also of Asian descent, shared the surveillance video with Lim and said that Asian-owned businesses in Little Saigon and Oakland’s Chinatown are closing early in fear of attacks such as these.
Hate crimes against people of Asian descent have skyrocketed in cities across the country since the coronavirus pandemic began in early 2020, prompting a response from the White House last week.
In New York City, police data released last month shows that reports of anti-Asian attacks increased 343% – from 30 in 2020 to 133 in 2021.
In San Francisco, reported anti-Asian attacks rose to 60 in 2021, a 567% increase compared to nine reported attacks in 2021, according to city police statistics released last month.
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White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday blamed "hate-filled rhetoric and language" around the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic as a driving force behind an uptick in hate crimes against Asian Americans.
"The president has put into place a task force. He has hired a senior level staffer to be a representative and speak to these threats, the concerns and these fears felt by the Asian American community," Psaki said. "There's a number of steps we need to take, and continue to take, to address."
Fox News' Kyle Morris and Stephanie Pagones contributed to this report.
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