Investigation underway after video shows attack on Asian couple in Tacoma; victim speaks out

TACOMA, Wash. — A video of an Asian man being attacked in Tacoma has been shared thousands of times on social media, and it is causing outrage.

The victims in the video saw a story on KIRO 7 on Wednesday and contacted KIRO 7′s Kevin Ko, who sat down with one of the victims and talked about what happened.

And although the video only went viral this week, the assault happened months ago. The couple, a Korean man and woman, sat down with Ko, and the man said, “I just don’t understand why I was attacked.”

Ko asked, “Do you think it’s because you’re Asian? Or do you think they didn’t know you were Asian?”

The victim said, “I have to think so. I’m Asian. I’m older, and I’m not that big.”

Because the victim told KIRO 7 that it has been a confusing few months for him, he asked that his identity not be revealed, saying the ordeal is not just about him — it’s for the Asian community.

“I still don’t understand. This changed my life,” the man said.

The man and his wife were on a walk on Stevens Street near their apartment when he said he saw four teens he had not seen before until they literally bumped into him.

“I thought they were messing around with each other and accidentally bumped into me. So, I asked, ‘You OK? You OK?’” the man said. And he said that is when someone else tripped him over and, as he got up from the ground, things took another turn.

“A fist came flying in, hit me right here, and I started bleeding,” the man said. The victim said after being punched, his attackers ran off.

In the video that KIRO 7 saw, the victim’s claims seem to be confirmed by the video, which appeared to be taken by one of the attackers.

Ko asked: “Did you call the police?”

“I did call. Two police officers showed up after I called, and I explained what happened,” the man said.

The man said he received an incident report the day he was attacked at the scene but did not hear back from police, leaving him and his family wondering since November.

“Does this not matter? That’s how I took it,” he said.

The family eventually left Tacoma because they said they felt unsafe and had not heard from the police.

The victim said he is speaking out now because he wants to make sure attacks on other people of Asian descent are properly investigated. He also wants his attackers to know he forgives them and just wants them to learn from their mistakes.

“I want him to be better. I want him to know this was bad,” the man said.

KIRO 7 recently contacted Tacoma police to ask what happened. And after KIRO 7 reached out, they called the man and his family, sending a detective to their home.

Police said they did not have much of a case before the video came out this week and are now actively investigating the incident.

Cox Media Group