EXCLUSIVE: Surveillance camera captures man blowtorching East Bay Chinese restaurant

ByDion Lim KGO logo

Sunday, April 4, 2021

EXCLUSIVE: Man seen blowtorching East Bay Chinese restaurant

Owners of a Chinese restaurant in the East Bay are trying to raise awareness, and spread the warning to be vigilant, after their building was blowtorched for nearly half an hour.

ANTIOCH, Calif. (KGO) -- Owners of a Chinese restaurant in the East Bay are trying to raise awareness, and spread the warning to be vigilant, after their building was blowtorched for nearly half an hour.

Surveillance video from late Wednesday night shows a man drive up to one of the entrances to the restaurant, get out of the car, ignite a blowtorch an prop it against a door.

The man then leaves and comes back 20 minutes later, and ultimately takes it away.

A family member spoke with ABC7 News anchor Dion Lim, and says the family doesn't want to reveal the name of the business, especially after it was broken into four times in the past year.

The woman said in an Instagram post that she was, "Livid, irritated, heartbroken, terrified and so many other negative emotions," and said it had been an emotional time for the family.

The family says they've owned the restaurant for more than 20 years and while they can't say for certain if this was a hate-motivated incident, they believe with the recent uptick in reporting on attacks against Asians, it could very well be.

No major damage was done to the restaurant and the man did not appear to break in. The family plans to file a police report in-person on Monday.

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