'Go back to China': Fremont woman goes on racist rant, targeting neighbor and 10-year-old girl
FREMONT, Calif (KGO) -- A Fremont mom is speaking out exclusively to ABC7 News after she and her 10-year old daughter encountered a woman, multiple times in one day, going off on a racist rant in their very own neighborhood.
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Theresa is choosing only to use her first name and not show her face for safety reasons. She and her family are strongly involved in their local church and abide by the saying "love thy neighbor."
"When she first introduced herself I said 'oh, it's so lovely to meet you.'"
Then, the invasive questions began.
"Whether or not I was a renter, she even told me how much my house cost," said Theresa.
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The comments then quickly spiraled into hate.
"Go back to China!" the woman yelled, multiple times. At one point she barrels down the sidewalk toward Theresa who can be heard on camera asking her to stop coming toward her because she has no mask on.
The woman even yelled homophobic slurs right in front of her 10-year old daughter.
Both mom and daughter are Asian but not Chinese.
"I just thought that was really wrong," the 10-year old said.
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When asked how Theresa was able to keep her composure during the aggressive onslaught of words she says she wanted to set a good example to her daughters.
Since Theresa posted about the incident online, she has been greeted with a flood of support from her community. This includes Fremont Mayor Lily Mei, who condemned the incident on her own Facebook page and offered resources to help.
Mei told ABC7 News Anchor Dion Lim via Twitter direct message that she was "dismayed at the lack of respect and kindness in this abhorrent behavior".
The mom said she is grateful and "blown away" by the support.
A local church group and deacon also held a virtual prayer vigil for her to encourage strength and support during this time.
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Theresa sends this message to anyone who experiences this kind of discrimination, encouraging them to share their story:
"We should have a productive and positive conversation about what's going on so we can facilitate change."
Fremont police say they're aware of the situation and know who the woman is as there have been multiple calls for service about her. They say this incident can't be categorized as a hate crime because no threat or violent act was committed.
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