Man May Face Hate Crime Charges After Assaulting Filipino American Woman at Train Stop in SJ

A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested and may face hate crime charges for assaulting a Filipino-American woman while riding the Caltrain in San Jose, California on Wednesday morning.

Mercury News reported the incident as being a sexual assault. The woman sent an exclusive video from the scene of the incident.

What happened: The woman, 26, who requested to be identified only as Tiffany, took the Caltrain at San Jose’s Diridon Station on Wednesday at around 6:30 a.m., according to KTVU.

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The medical worker was on her way to work in Palo Alto when a man suddenly approached her and grabbed her neck from behind. He reportedly pulled her hair back and started cursing at the woman for her Asian ethnicity.
“He made his way to the back of my head and just pulled me back and tossing me from front to back and side to side,” the woman recalled the assault.
Tiffany began screaming when the man forced her to the ground and started tossing her back and forth.
“He was saying f-u, f-u Asian, this is completely bull,” she said. “All while he was keeping me on the ground with his grip on my hair.”
Bystanders came to her rescue and yelled at the man to stop the assault. He attempted to run away from the scene.
The woman was not injured physically, Victoria O’Brien, Caltrain Deputy Director of Safety and Security, told KTVU.

Aftermath: One of the bystanders who witnessed the assault stayed by the suspect until authorities arrived to arrest him.

“I hope that we as a community help stop all the violent racial crimes against us,” the Filipino American victim told NextShark. “That even shouting out at the person assaulting can make a huge difference in saving a life. No one deserves to go through what I’ve gone through or all those that were assaulted. To not be afraid to call law enforcement because they are there to help and protect us.”
The suspect was taken to the Santa Clara County jail.
Although police have already identified the man, they have yet to release a formal picture and name of the suspect.

Do you have a hate incident to report? Help us document the recent rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans by going to STOP AAPI HATE to report an incident. Please stay safe out there.

Feature Image via Tiffany

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