Man Caught on Camera Blowtorching Chinese Restaurant in NorCal

An unidentified suspect tried to burn down a Chinese restaurant in Antioch, CA with a blowtorch last week. The botched attempt, which was caught on a security camera, occurred just outside the establishment at around 11 p.m. on March 31. In the surveillance video, a man can be seen walking up to the restaurant and firing up a blowtorch. He then leaves it burning by a door for around 20 minutes before returning to retrieve it, according to ABC7 News.

A woman identified as Alice said her family has owned the restaurant for more than 20 years. They suffered at least four break-ins in the past year, but what happened on Wednesday was the scariest incident she has ever faced. “I am so livid, irritated, heartbroken, terrified and so many other negative emotions,” Alice said, according to ABC7 News anchor Dion Lim. “It’s been an emotional 16 hours.” The family is unsure whether the incident was a hate crime. But Alice believes that it could be due to the recent increase of similar reports from Asian Americans. The business did not suffer from any major damages, and the suspect did not attempt to break into the establishment. The family planned to file a police report on Monday. Feature Image via Dion Lim (@dionlimtv)

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