Probe underway in Vancouver to nab racist attacker who shouted COVID-19 slurs at Asian man

A probe is underway in Vancouver, Canada to nab a man involved in a racist attack on a 92-year-old Asian man with dementia. The old man was thrown to the ground as his attacker shouted slurs about COVID-19, a disease caused by coronavirus.

According to the South China Morning Post, the incident occurred on March 13 on the city’s Eastside, which has long been associated with Vancouver’s working-class Chinese community.

This happened in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has been ravaging the entire planet, and is said to have broken out in China's Wuhan city.

The attack was captured on video that was released with a plea to the public to identify the suspect.

Vancouver police said on Wednesday that the attack was part of a wave of anti-Asian hate crimes in this western Canadian city linked to the coronavirus pandemic.

The victim had just been reported missing by his family when he wandered into a convenience store and encountered his attacker.

The silent CCTV footage shows the small East Asian man being forcefully thrown out of a convenience store by his attacker -- balding with a goatee beard, and heavy gold chains around his wrist and neck.

The old man was unhurt. The victim had wandered into the store, whose staff were trying to help him, “when the suspect began yelling racist remarks at the victim that included comments about COVID-19”.