Actor Daniel Dae Kim describes the terrifying moment his sister fell victim to a hate crime

Actor Daniel Dae Kim appeared on Cuomo Prime Time Wednesday where he weighed in on the deadly shootings that occurred in the Atlanta area a day earlier. On Tuesday, a 21-year-old Georgia man, who has confessed to the killings, opened fire in three spas killing eight people, six of them Asian women. While authorities have yet to determine if the murders were racially motivated, Kim shared his sister’s experience as the victim of a hate crime.

“She was running in her own neighborhood when a man driving a car came up to her and yelled at her to get on the sidewalk when she was running on the shoulder,” Kim said. “She said she would do that, and the man then backed up and hit her with the car. My sister turned around and was shocked, and told him that ‘You just hit me,’ he backed up the car, and as my sister was walking away, hit her again, knocking her to the ground.”

Kim said that though the man had a history of violence against Asian women, he was only convicted of reckless driving. Kim recalled the flippant attitude of the judge when handing down the sentence, comparing it to a sheriff's office spokesman on Wednesday saying the shooter in Atlanta was just having a really bad day.

“Just as the sheriff’s spokesman said today that this man was having a bad day,” Kim said, “the judge in the case with my sister said, ‘I can understand why this guy was frustrated, I get frustrated too.’ And that’s what he said, and that’s when the verdict was brought down that this would be reckless driving.”

Video Transcript

DANIEL DAE KIM: She was running in her own neighborhood, when a man driving a car came up to her and yelled at her to get on the sidewalk, when she was running on the shoulder. She said she would do that. And the man then backed up and hit her with her car.

- Following that Georgia shooting spree on Tuesday that left eight people dead, six of them Asian women, after Daniel Dae Kim appeared on Cuomo Prime Time Wednesday, where he spoke about his sister's experience being a victim of a hate crime.

DANIEL DAE KIM: My sister turned around and was shocked, and told him that, he just hit me. He backed up the car, and as my sister was walking away, hit her again, knocking her to the ground.

- While investigators in the Atlanta area murders have yet to determine if race was a factor in the killings, Kim said the district attorney in his sister's case never even considered prosecuting a hate crime.

DANIEL DAE KIM: This man had a history of violence toward other Asian women. But when it got time to prosecute him, the DA was telling my sister that we'll never get a hate crime.

- Kim said the man only received a reckless driving charge and compared the judge's attitude when handing down the sentence to that of a sheriff's office spokesman, who said the Atlanta shooter was just having a bad day.

DANIEL DAE KIM: Just as the sheriff's spokesman said today, that this man was having a bad day, the judge in the case with my sister said, I can understand why this guy was frustrated, I get frustrated too.

- And while the suspected murderer claims it was sex addiction, not race, as the motivating factor behind the killings, Kim isn't buying it.

DANIEL DAE KIM: This is a part of our history, Chris. And so I'm a bit skeptical when I hear that there's absolutely no connection between race and these murders.