Oakland Chinatown Leader Attacked While Running Errands, Visiting Victim of Separate Incident

A prominent leader of Oakland’s Chinatown was attacked while running errands last week.

The incident took place in the 400 block of 8th St. at around 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 29, KPIX 5 reported.

Carl Chan. Image Screenshot via KPIX CBS SF Bay Area

Carl Chan, president of Oakland’s Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, was in Oakland running some errands. He also planned on visiting Hua Zhen Lin, a 68-year-old who was assaulted on an AC Transit bus last Monday.

Chan, however, was attacked in broad daylight before he could pay a visit to Lin. While Chan was walking, his attacker allegedly yelled a racial slur at him before hitting him on the head.

“I was making a turn and then the attack came so sudden. It was a cowardly attack, from behind,” Chan told KPIX 5. “He did not rob me so it was basically, is just an assault, and attack.”

Chan’s scraped knee after the attack. Image via Carl Chan

Chan fell to the ground and suffered bruises and a scraped knee. Despite blacking out for a moment, he managed to take photos of his male assailant, which led to an arrest by Oakland police shortly after.

Parolee James Lee Ramsey, 25, was booked on felony battery charges. Ramsey already had convictions for criminal threats and brandishing a weapon, and his parole has been revoked multiple times, according to KTVU.

Chan managed to take a photo of his attacker as he walked away from the incident. Image via Carl Chan

On Friday, Chan stood among other community leaders in a rally against SB82, a bill proposed by East Bay Sen. Nancy Skinner that classifies robberies without deadly weapons or serious bodily harm as misdemeanors or petty thefts instead of felonies, according to CBS 13.

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A Skinner spokesperson told ABC7 News anchor Dion Lim that the bill is headed for a hearing on May 20. The senator was reportedly “deeply troubled” to hear about Chan’s attack and is “committed to working with API leaders to end these attacks and to address the lies and propaganda that have fed racism and intolerance.”

Whether the attack against Chan was motivated by anti-Asian hate is yet to be determined, Oakland Police Capt. Bobby Hookfin told the San Francisco Chronicle. Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators at (510) 238-3326.

Featured Images via Henry K. Lee / KTVU (left) and Carl Chan (center, right)

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