‘It’s all your fault.’ Man shoves and spits on Asian couple in video, Washington cops say

A man was captured on video attacking an Asian couple, spitting on and slapping the man’s face mask, Seattle Police say.

The Seattle Police Department’s Bias Crime Unit said a man spat on a couple in downtown Seattle and told them “it’s all your fault,” according to a police department news release.

“The couple was walking near 3rd Avenue and Stewart Street around 4:15 p.m. on May 16 when the suspect walked past them, shoved the male victim, and slapped at his face mask, knocking off his glasses,” police said.

The attacker spat at the man and ran away, police said. The man had minor injuries from the attack.

“SPD’s Bias Crimes Unit is investigating the case and is asking anyone who can identify the suspect to call,” police said.

Asian Americans have reported surges of xenophobia and racist incidents during the coronavirus pandemic, according to ADL, an anti-hate group.

“These incidents include being told to ‘Go back to China,’ being blamed for ‘bringing the virus’ to the United States, being referred to with racial slurs, spat on, or physically assaulted,” the group said. “Statements by public officials referring to COVID-19 as the ‘Chinese virus,’ ‘Kung Flu’ or ‘Wu Flu’ may be exacerbating the scapegoating and targeting of the AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) community. Meanwhile, extremists continue to spread antisemitic and xenophobic conspiracies about COVID-19, blaming Jews and China for creating, spreading and profiting off the virus.”

The coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan, China, and swept across Asia, according to McClatchy News. More than 84,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus were reported in China as of Wednesday, and there were 1.5 million confirmed cases in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University.

This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 3:59 PM with the headline "‘It’s all your fault.’ Man shoves and spits on Asian couple in video, Washington cops say."