Elderly Asian woman who fought off attacker donating nearly $1M raised for her to ‘combat racism’

SAN FRANCISCO — An elderly San Francisco woman for whom nearly $1 million has been raised in the wake of an unprovoked street attack plans to donate the funds to fight racism targeting the Asian American community, her family said.

The March 17 attack on Xiao Zhen Xie, 75, drew international attention after she fended off her attacker on Market Street with a wooden board.

Steven Jenkins, 39, who was arrested at the scene, is also accused of attacking 83-year-old Ngoc Pham moments before he reportedly punched Xie in the eye and is suspected in a separate physical altercation 30 minutes earlier. Jenkins has been charged with two counts each of assault and elder abuse, KRON reported.

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Xie and Pham are among the latest victims in a recent wave of attacks on residents of Asian descent in California’s Bay Area.

An online fundraiser with a goal of $50,000, established to help pay Xie’s medical bills, has since raised more than $935,000, and her grandson, John Chen, told KPIX that the family intends to donate the funds toward fighting racism targeting Asian Americans. In a Monday update to the family’s GoFundMe page, Chen wrote:

“When we visited our grandma yesterday and today her overall mental and physical health has improved. Her eye is no longer swelled to the point of not being able to open it. She is now starting to feel optimistic again and is in better spirits. She said we must not [submit] to racism and we must fight to the death if necessary. She also stated multiple times to donate all the funds generated in this GoFundMe back to the Asian American community to combat racism. She insists on making this decision saying this issue is bigger than Her. This is my grandma, grandpa, and our family’s decision. We hope everyone can understand our decision.”

Meanwhile, an online fundraiser benefiting Pham with an initial goal of $25,000 has generated nearly $300,000 in donations, KPIX reported.

According to the TV station, witnesses said Jenkins had also been involved in a separate physical altercation roughly 30 minutes before assaulting Xie and Pham. Police said that Jenkins then assaulted Pham as he walked away from a farmers market, after which a security guard chased him on foot. Then, as Jenkins fled the area, he assaulted Xie, and she retaliated. The security guard detained Jenkins until officers arrived.

Although initial reports indicated that Xie’s self-defense tactics led to Jenkins’ hospitalization, police later clarified that he was taken to an area hospital for an unrelated, prior medical condition, KPIX reported.

Cox Media Group