An Asian man aged in his 60s was dragged in the street during a carjacking in Oakland, California’s Chinatown.
The unidentified victim drove up to the Won Kee Supermarket and stepped out of his car, leaving his door wide open as he went to pick up a bag of rice. In a matter of seconds, another man was captured on surveillance camera entering his vehicle shortly before 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The victim then ran over to his car in an attempt to stop the thief. He grabbed onto his car as the suspect started driving away. The man was dragged several feet on the road before he eventually let go.
“The victim never would have believed that he would be a victim because there were so many people in the area,” Carl Chan, Oakland Chinatown’s director of commerce, told KRON4. “And all he thought it may take 10-15 seconds to load up the sack of rice to his car.”
Community members and two volunteer patrol groups nearby rendered aid to the victim and called the Oakland police. The victim suffered cuts and bruises to his face, hands, legs and feet. The suspect is still at large.
Chan believes that the city must provide 911 operators who can speak victims’ languages. He also said that the AAPI community must take extra steps to protect themselves and continue to report crimes to the authorities.
“People may think crime is down, especially AAPI hate, but knowing so many victims, they are afraid to report to police,” Chan told ABC7. “It seems like it’s slowing down but it’s not. We need to make sure people under these situations understand. Please report to police so we can not only help the family, but let people know that these kind of incidents happen in our community.”
