SFPD Arrests Suspect in Hate Crime on Elderly Chinese Man, Searching for Second Suspect

Editor’s Note: This post has been updated with the identity of the first suspect released by SFPD.

San Francisco Police have made an arrest in the assault and robbery of the elderly Chinese man who was collecting cans in the Bayview Hunters-Point neighborhood.

SF Police Chief Bill Scott announced on Thursday that one suspect is facing charges including robbery, hate crime and elder abuse. Additionally, SFPD is currently looking for a second suspect, according to KPIX 5.

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Late Thursday, SFPD released a mug shot and identity of the arrested suspect as 20-year-old Dwayne Grayson who was charged with robbery, elder abuse, probation violation from a previous robbery conviction and a hate crime enhancement. The mug shot released to the public was from a previous arrest from 2019.

SFPD posted a new statement on Thursday regarding the developing case:

“On February 24, 2020, the San Francisco Police Department was made aware of a video circulating on social media that depicted the robbery of an Asian man who was collecting recyclables in the Bayview District. The Bayview Station Investigations Team (SIT) immediately initiated an investigation which has since been assigned to the SFPD Special Investigations Division (SID).The incident took place on the Unit block of Osceola Lane on Saturday, February 22nd 2020 at approximately 5:30 PM. The victim, a 68-year-old male, was struck on the back of the head. He had a complaint of pain but no visible injury. The loss was a cart full of recyclables.On February 27, 2020, at approximately 8:15 AM, SFPD officers took 20-year-old Dwayne Grayson into custody in front of his residence on the 100 block of Kirkwood Avenue.

“He was booked at Bayview Police Station on the charges of robbery, elder abuse, a probation violation for a prior robbery conviction and a hate crime enhancement. Grayson was the individual who also recorded and posted the incident on social media. The booking photo from his 2019 arrest accompanies this news release.This arrest is the direct result of cooperation and assistance from the community and efforts by officers assigned to Bayview Police Station and the Special Investigations Division who have been working tirelessly to identify the involved parties.Investigators have identified the other suspect in the incident and actively searching for him.”

The disturbing and heartbreaking video shows a crowd gathering around the man, taking his cart laden with cans that he had collected to exchange for money at a recycling plant to support himself and his family.

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The elderly Chinese man, whose identity has not been released, was located by SFPD on Wednesday. The man is in his 70s, originally from Kaiping, China, has lived in San Francisco for six years, and supports himself and his wife by collecting cans. His wife also works in home health care, according to KPIX 5. Michael Wong of the Community Youth Center of San Francisco revealed that the man has so far refused help and does not want to take donations because he is proud. The community center has been assisting the elderly man in reporting the crime to the police.

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San Francisco Mayor London Breed held a Community Unity and Healing rally on the street that the assault took place on Thursday. Mayor Breed made a statement before the event saying, “I want to be clear: We don’t want to try and bait any kind of race war. We live in the same community, we go to the same grocery stores, our kids go to the same schools. And it’s important that we bridge that gap.”

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The news comes on the heels of an equally disturbing video of two assailants assaulting and robbing a woman in the Stockton Tunnel in Chinatown. SFPD is currently investigating the incident.

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