Vancouver police say a person has been arrested after an 82-year-old Asian woman was shoved from behind in Vancouver on Friday (Sept. 24).
At a news conference Monday, Const. Tania Visintin said that the victim is “only suffering a sore arm, physically” but that support services were offered to the elderly woman. The incident happened near East King Edward Avenue and Fraser Street as the woman was walking to a bus stop. A 33-year-old suspect has been arrested.
Visintin said that the police department has begun an investigation to determine if the incident was a hate crime, noting the rise in anti-Asian violence since the beginning of the pandemic.
“She did only suffer from a sore arm but when you’re in this situation, randomly attacked the way this woman was, it’s heartbreaking to hear,” she said. “It must be very frightening for her, very traumatic.”
