Japanese American Woman Finds Cup Filled with Urine, Anti-Asian Hate Messages on Car

Melissa Tao parked her car across a Billabong store in Capitola on April 18, East Bay Times reported. When she returned 15 minutes later, Tao found a cup filled with, what she claimed was, urine and the words “Die China,” “Kill China,” and “F**k Off Chinese” written all over it.

“My thoughts you may ask? Disgust, fear, and sadness that someone was watching and waiting for me to come back to what they may think was a joke,” Tao wrote in an Instagram post.

Tao, who has lived in the area for 24 years, hopes her post will raise awareness about the situation in Santa Cruz.

“I never knew such a thing would occur in a place that has made me feel so safe and secure,” she said.

Tao encourages people to speak up and come together. She has reported the incident to the police.

“Anti-Asian harassment and violence has surged across the state and country since the beginning of the pandemic,” she said. “News stories the past months have created so much fear in our community and in return silences us.”

Ashley Keehn, the Public Information Officer for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office noted that detectives are currently investigating and looking for any information related to the case. Specifically, “if there is any video evidence or witnesses who may have seen anything suspicious at the time.”

“This is a disgusting and disturbing incident for anyone to have to go through and will not be tolerated,” Keehn said in a statement to Nextshark.

Featured Image via @melissaatao (left), (right)