Vancouver police are investigating the assault of a 92-year-old Asian man with dementia last month as a hate crime.
Police are looking for the suspect who is believed to have assaulted the man on March 13 near Nanaimo Street and East 1st Avenue.
“Everything about this assault and the behaviour of the suspect is despicable,” Const. Tania Visintin says in a release.
“As a police department, we do not tolerate incidents motivated by bias, prejudice, or hate. It’s even more disturbing considering the victim’s age.”
Police say the 92-year-old victim, who suffers from severe dementia, wandered into a convenience store and the suspect began yelling racist remarks at him, including comments about COVID-19.
Police say once outside the store, the suspect shoved the man, which caused him to fall and hit his head. The suspect then fled before police arrived.
Vancouver police have noticed an increase in reports of anti-Asian hate-motivated incidents and criminal behaviour in recent weeks. Police say 11 hate crimes were reported to them in March, five of which had an anti-Asian element.
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