Homeless Asian man robbed, called anti-Asian slurs and beaten by three men in Pittsburgh

A transient Asian man is asking for help after he was filmed being attacked by a trio of men in the middle of a street in Pittsburgh last month.

Dewey Kang, who has been homeless for more than seven years, was chased by the group at the corner of Liberty Avenue and Seventh Street at around 2:45 p.m. on Dec. 30, 2021.

As seen in a bystander video, Kang ended up on the ground and was repeatedly slammed with a skateboard, which he said he owns.

Police responded to a 911 call about the incident, but both Kang and his assailants were already gone when the authorities arrived.

Speaking exclusively to NextShark, Kang said it all started after one of the men snatched money from his hand.

“I grabbed him and told him to give it back. He pretended to give it back and dropped it, [so] it went everywhere,” Kang told NextShark. “His boys started grabbing it as it scattered. I went to pick it up and got hit in the back of my head.”

Kang said he tried to fight back. Someone started filming as more people hit him.

“I dropped my backpack and tried to make distance. They got my skateboard from me and beat the sh*t out of me and took everything but my phone,” Kang recalled.

During the attack, Kang said he was called a “ch*nk” and told to go back to his country. “People have yelled racial slurs to me before, but nothing like this,” he added.

Kang suffered minor injuries, which he later shared in an Instagram post. He believes the incident was a hate crime, but he chose not to file a police report because “when you’re on the streets, that will get you hurt or killed.”

Kang also told NextShark that he struggles with mental health issues. He has launched a GoFundMe campaign and is now asking the public for financial help.

“Hey, I really don’t wanna do this but I got robbed and jumped in broad daylight in downtown Pittsburgh. They got all my money and took what few items I had,” Kang wrote in his GoFundMe campaign’s description. “I’m just asking for help to replace what was taken. Even a dollar would help.”

Kang said people can also send help via Venmo (Dewey-Kang), PayPal (skateboardcuz) or Cash App ($skateboardcuh).

The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police is investigating the incident. Witnesses are urged to call Police Zone 2 headquarters at (412) 255-2827, or the bureau’s headquarters at (412) 323-7800, according to Deputy Public Information Officer Amanda Mueller.

Featured Image via Dewey Kang

Share this Article