Xiao Zhen Xie.Photo: GoFundMe
An elderly woman who was attacked in San Francisco Wednesday fought back against her assailant with a wooden bat.
Xie said the attack was completely unprovoked.
Police said the suspect had been badly beat up prior to his alleged attack on Xie.
“The guy was badly beaten in a previous assault,” San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Matt Dorsey tells PEOPLE. That attack occurred about 30 minutes before.
Police said they are investigating to determine if race was a factor in the attack.
“It is an active investigation and we have no information to confirm any possible motivations at this time,” says Dorsey.
Xiao Zhen Xie spoke toKPIX5with her daughter Dong-Mei Li, helping to translate.
“Very traumatized, very scared and this eye is still bleeding,” she said. “The right eye still cannot see anything and (is) still bleeding and we have something to absorb the bleeding.”
Meanwhile, Xiao Zhen Xie’s grandson has set up aGoFundMepage to help pay for her mounting medical bills.
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Chen said his grandmother has two black eyes, one of which continues to bleed, and a swollen wrist.
“She has been severely affected mentally, physically, and emotionally,” he wrote. “She also stated that she is afraid to step out of her home from now on. This traumatic event has left her with PTSD.”
Chen said his grandmother is a cancer survivor and has diabetes. “My heart is with all the other elderly Asians that has also been seriously injured or killed in this wave of attacks towards the Asian community,” he wrote.
Jenkins has been charged with two counts of assault likely to produce great bodily injury and two counts of elder abuse. It was not immediately clear if he has entered a plea or retained an attorney to comment on his behalf.
To learn more and to report crimes, go to:Asian Americans Advancing Justice,Stop the AAPI Hate,National Council of Asian Pacific Americans,Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA, andAsian Pacific Policy & Planning Council.
source: people.com
