Editor’s note (10/7/22 3:59 p.m. PST): The original version of this article has been updated to include more details.
An unidentified man is being hailed as a hero after preventing a carjacking that purportedly targeted an elderly Asian man in Los Angeles’ Miracle Mile area.
Advocacy group Black and Asian Souls Unite took to Instagram to post a video of the incident, which NextShark has verified with the neighborhood official who originally shared the video. The footage does not show the purported carjacking but what appears to be its aftermath.
In the video, the Good Samaritan, a Black man who wishes not to be identified, can be seen pointing what appears to be a handgun at the alleged carjacker, effectively forcing him away from the victim. Zooming into the video shows the latter throwing back what is presumably the Asian man’s car keys.
“Get the f*ck off my street!” the Samaritan demands before making a warning shot. “You come around here bullying people on my f*cking street, n*gga?”
The man continues to keep the alleged perp at bay by pushing him on the back multiple times until they reach a safe distance.
Background voices are heard in the video as the scene unfolds. One of them, presumably the Asian man, yells “thank you” after his rescuer passes on the car keys.
Miracle Mile Zone 7 Rep. Thao Tran, who also serves as the chair of Public Safety & Wellbeing Mid City West Neighborhood Council, revealed that the incident happened on April 27 of this year at the south of the intersection of Wilshire and Ridgely in Los Angeles’ Miracle Mile area.
Tran tells NextShark that a Mid-City resident provided footage to a Los Angeles Police Department volunteer.
After reviewing the video, she said she felt the need to share the video to raise awareness.
“This video was provided by a resident, to one of my fellow LAPD volunteers.” she said. “When I reviewed the video, I felt strongly that it had to be shared.”
The video has drawn positive responses from the public. Some declared the man in white a hero, while others described his intervention as a show of allyship between the Asian and Black communities.
“The man yelling, ‘thank you.’ I thank him,” journalist Lisa Ling commented.
Actor and producer Will Lex Ham chimed in, “Yes! THANK YOU!”
“This is amazing. Please please please keep up this energy on BOTH sides. We’re in this together yall,” user @soft.baked wrote.
User @ryangenji declared, “True allyship!”
“Good man. Dim sum or Korean BBQ on me,” user @laphilip.kai offered.
Featured Image via @blackandasiansoulsunite
