Man Accused of Assaulting Sushi Restaurant Owner After Trying to Skip $70 Bill in Virginia
Police in Arlington, Virginia are looking for a man who allegedly assaulted an Asian American restaurant owner and used racial slurs against her and her son on May 4.
What happened: Henry Kim and his mother, who own Bonsai Grill in Crystal City, said the attack occurred when they followed the man after he left their restaurant without paying for roughly $70 worth of sushi rolls.
Kim and his mother followed the man but he continued walking and claimed to be on an emergency phone call.
When Kim called 911 himself, the man allegedly became aggressive, pushed his mother to the ground and used racial slurs against them.
"When we got to the corner over there, that's when he started saying, like, racial slurs like, 'Get out of my face -----. You Asians have the coronavirus. I don't want it from you guys. Get away,'" Kim told NBC Washington.
Police said he ran toward Richmond Highway after the incident.
Here is the full cell phone video of the incident. Henry Kim, the young man who took the video, sent it to us. We've blurred out his mom's face at her request. pic.twitter.com/XZWRuuxtMe
— Aimee Cho (@AimeeCho4) May 8, 2021
The aftermath: The incident has been reported to Virginia State Police as a possible hate crime.
Kim said it's not the first time something like this has happened to him, but he was worried about his mother's safety. She reportedly suffered scrapes on her arm but did not require medical attention.
"She’s doing a lot better. Thank, God. When she fell down, she was really hurt in the elbows and hands," Kim told FOX 5 DC.
Arlington police described the suspect as a "white male in his late 20’s to early 30’s with dark brown hair, a light brown beard, approximately 5’9” to 5’11” tall and weighing between 150 to 160 lbs. He was wearing square rimmed glasses, headphones, a black t-shirt, gray and black sweatpants and black sneakers at the time of the incident."
The alleged attack adds to the growing number of anti-Asian incidents across the country. Anyone with information is asked to call the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4180 or email ACPDTipline@arlingtonva.us.
Anonymous tips can also be sent through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
Feature Images via Arlington County Police Department
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