Police: Attackers yelled racial slurs before stealing business owner's van

TACOMA, Wash. — A Tacoma carpet cleaning business owner was attacked by three people who yelled racial slurs before stealing the man’s van filled with $30,000 of equipment, police said.

“It’s horrible, just horrible," said the victim’s daughter, Maria Martinez.  Her father, Joaquin Martin, was parked by the White Roof Inn near 84th and Hosmer around 8 a.m. Friday when a man and two women approached his van.

“The two men grabbed him and a woman got into the car through the passenger side and she started, like, beating him,” said Martinez.

She says the men repeatedly yelled racial slurs as her father tried to run from the three. At one point, he called his daughter on a cellphone for help, and Martinez said she heard the woman using profanity and calling her father a Mexican and saying welcome to the USA. “It was all Mexican, Hispanic, USA, yes it was racial.”

The woman and one of the men suspected in the assault were later arrested at the White Roof Inn when police arrived to investigate the attack. Joaquin Martinez was taken to Tacoma General Hospital to be treated for a possible broken wrist and other injuries.

The van was still missing Friday and police were continuing to investigate. Martinez’s daughter said she’s convinced the three attacked her father because he is Hispanic. “This was something else, it wasn’t just a robbery,” said Martinez.

KIRO