75-year-old Asian-American woman fights back against man she says punched her without warning
SAN FRANCISCO (WTVD) -- A 75-year-old Asian-American woman fought back against a 39-year-old stranger who reportedly punched her out of the blue.
Video captured the aftermath of the incident. It showed the middle age man bleeding and handcuffed on a stretcher. The woman he reportedly attacked could be seen standing near him with an ice pack on her head and a wooden paddle in her hand still pointed at the man.
It all happened in San Francisco, where this week police have stepped up patrols due to an increase in attacks against Asian-Americans.
"Here in San Francisco we have seen a rise in hate crime against our elderly Asian community. I want to make it clear that we won't tolerate it," warned San Francisco Mayor, London Breed.
This most recent incident happened shortly after police received a call about an 83-year-old Asian-American man who had been attacked in the area.
A security guard went after the man suspected of attacking the 83-year-old. While running away, the suspect came across the 75-year-old woman leaning against a utility pole.
That's when he reportedly punched her in the head.
She was not having any of it.
According to KPIX, the woman was heard repeating in Chinese, "You bum, why did you hit me?" and then turning to the crowd and saying "This bum, he hit me."
When authorities arrived, the man was handcuffed and placed on a stretcher, where he appeared to be bleeding from his mouth. The woman had a bruise on her eye.
RELATED: Coalition tracks increase in attacks on Asian-Americans
The Stop AAPI Hate coalition says it has received at least 3,795 firsthand complaints of racism and discrimination against Asian Americans in the past year.
CNN Wire contributed to this report.
