EXCLUSIVE: Hate crime victim describes brutal San Jose attack, robbery
"I think he should stay in the jail for a long time and think it over. Why he's doing this to us?" said the 66-year-old victim.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Just days after the announcement of six men arrested in connection to hate crime robberies on Asian Americans across the Bay Area, one victim is speaking out, showing the cruelty of her alleged perpetrator.
Sixty-six-year-old An-Hang spoke via phone and requested her last name remain private. She described the events one afternoon in September when she and her husband went to a Costco in San Jose and a man seemingly approached out of nowhere.
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"He kicked my right leg to push me down. That's why I break my teeth and bleeding on my arm," said An-Hang.
She was knocked to the ground, face down, and robbed.
"I fall down and he dragged me on the ground. That's why my face rubbed on the street and I broke three teeth. Because it's so painful, I had to get up and he took away my purse and ran to a car waiting for him near there," said An-Hang.
This incident, according to police is part of a string of racially-motivated robberies, targeting Asian Americans across the Bay Area for more than a year.
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San Jose police, in partnership with multiple other agencies- announced arrests of six men in connection to more than 170 crimes.
Supervising Deputy District Attorney of Santa Clara County, Marisa McKeown spoke last week to ABC7 about their primary suspect, Anthony Robinson who committed these crimes daily.
"He admitted he was deliberately targeting Asian Americans on the mistaken belief they did not believe in bank accounts," said McKeown.
An-Hang says Robinson was the man who attacked her.
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While three of the six suspects arrested have been released the DA's office says more charges are coming. But that there are dozens of other victims.
An-Hang, who says she has lived in the United States since 1978 without incident, is baffled by the Asian hate.
"I know we are Asian but it doesn't mean we do anything wrong - so why do they hate us and try to steal stuff from us? That makes me very upset," said An-Hang.
An-Hang is still suffering from her injuries, such as limited mobility in her arm, and hopes to be able to pay for her costly dental surgery. She is speaking out, to encourage other victims, to do the same. She hopes for strict punishment for her attacker.
"I think he should stay in the jail for a long time and think it over. Why he's doing this to us? He's only 24 years old, he's still young, he can find a job outside and do legal stuff. Why he's doing this to us? I'm very, very upset about this."
