An 83-year-old Korean grandmother was attacked in Los Angeles this week by a woman who allegedly yelled “white power” before attacking her.
Linda Lee, a witness, posted about the incident on her Facebook page publicly on February 2. The post has since been removed from her public page. Linda initially stated that a caucasian woman approached the Korean grandmother and attacked her while yelling “White Power”. Linda’s friend fortunately chased after the woman until she was apprehended by police.
A picture of the grandmother was attached, showing her on the ground bleeding while someone helped her with a towel on her head to stop the bleeding. The photo was spread and reposted by those who were acquainted with the Korean grandmother.
My friend’s grandmother was punched in the face by a 27 year old Euro American woman who yelled “WHITE POWER”. This…
Posted by Kenneth Chang on Thursday, February 2, 2017
Read Linda’s original post in its entirety here:
“I don’t usually voice my political opinions, but I can’t keep quiet anymore…
For the people out there thinking this man is “putting America first” and making decisions that are good for our country, please think again. He has used his platform and power to bring about so much hatred and negativity in our country. It hasn’t even been two weeks since he has been president, and he’s turned our country and our world upside down.
The picture below happened to a random elderly Korean lady in LA by a white female. She walked by the korean grandma, yelled, “White power!” and ran off. Thank goodness Chong followed the female for 6 blocks while calling the police and stayed with her until he saw her get arrested.
What reason does she have to punch and elderly lady?!?! I’m frightened for my grandmother who immigrated to this country, LEGALLY, 30+ years ago and is an American citizen with a U.S. passport. She never learned to drive, but she learned how to use LA’s public transportation system and had my grandfather drive her around. Now that my grandpa has passed, she’s on her own to get to places where she needs to go. She’s very independent and insists that she continues to live in their apartment by herself because she doesn’t want to burden any of us to take care of her. It scares me that this situation can easily happen to my grandma while she’s waiting for the bus or walking to/from the bus stop to her home or work.
It angers me that people think that he allows them to feel powerful and bully others who are “different” from themselves. I work hard every day to teach my kids to be nice–even if they don’t like someone, they need to treat others with respect in order to become good citizens of our country. Seeing something like this reinforces how my job is more important now, more than ever, to teach our future how to understand our differences, be compassionate towards others, and respect other cultures. Please don’t spread the hate and ignorance displayed by someone who truly doesn’t deserve the power he has come into.”
—Linda Lee
The reactions on her post were very mixed. Some expressed their anger and sadness while others questioned Linda’s validity and whether this attack actually occurred.
Linda later posted an update that the perpetrator’s age was 27 and that she was arrested and her bail posted at $50,000. She also clarified that the grandma suffered a one inch gash to her head but that she would be okay.
The story was also reported by the Los Angeles Daily News and the Los Angeles Times, where the LAPD confirmed the attack occurred at 2:40 p.m., near Western Avenue and Third Street in Los Angeles. The assailant gave police her name as Patty Garcia but fingerprints later identified her as Alexis Duvall. At this time this is not being investigated as a hate crime.
The LAPD have said that the attack was unprovoked and that Alexis was homeless and seemed to be under the influence or mentally unstable. A bystander also uploaded a video of the attacker on YouTube where you can see her yelling at people and then running away.
NextShark has also reported that the case is not currently being investigated as a hate crime. The “white power” statement was not included in the official report that was initially filed but may be included after a thorough investigation into the incident.
The 83-year-old victim’s name was not released but her wounds have been treated and she has been discharged from the hospital. She told investigators that she wasn’t sure what had hit her since she was caught off guard.
Source: Joongang Daily, Los Angeles Daily News, and Los Angeles Times
