Justin Kan, one of the founders of live-video platform Twitch.tv — sold to Amazon for a whopping $970 million in August 2014 — recently became the victim of a hate crime.
At approximately 3:38 a.m. Saturday morning, an unidentified male went to the front of Kan’s house and vandalized his garage door with a racial slur. Kan (who is of Chinese descent), his fiancee and his two brothers were home at the time of the incident.
The vandal was captured on Kan’s Dropcam. In the footage, a man can be seen walking by with his bike before vandalizing Kan’s garage door with the words, “Fuck you gook!”
“I was super shocked; obviously not a lot of anti-Asian racism in Bay Area,” Kan told NextShark. In an interview with SF Gate, Kan said he and his fiancee “were clearly targeted. He knew who we were. It’s pretty unsettling.”
Kan also noted that this is one of the first times he’s experienced racism in America. “I haven’t had any racist experiences in America. It was a huge surprise,” Kan said.
Ironically, the vandal was wearing a Dropbox hoodie, a company that began at Y Combinator, an American seed fund at which Kan is a partner.
Kan could not identify the vandal and initially thought he was homeless. People on Twitter chimed in with their thoughts, including Science Inc. partner Peter Pham.
Could the perp simply be a former Y Combinator applicant angry at Kan for rejecting him? Not according to Kan:
Shortly after, one of Tan’s neighbors painted over the graffiti but used the wrong paint color and didn’t ask for permission.
Kan ended up being not only the victim of a hate crime and a help crime, but also a name typo as well during a TV interview.
Kan told NextShark that there are currently no major leads on the identity of the perpetrator. Police are checking video footage from shops and vending machines around the neighborhood to find more info. Those with information on the incident can contact the San Francisco Police Department.
