Hate crime alert. Orange County authorities are searching for a white couple who assaulted a 21-year-old Asian American college student in the parking lot of a recent OC Night Market event in Costa Mesa, following an earlier incident in which one of the assailants told the victim, "Go back to Asia and eat a dog."
Asian Man Assaulted By White Couple After Racist Taunts in Costa Mesa
The altercation started on Sunday evening when two white women approached the victim, who was standing in line, and tried to get him to buy them drinks. When he refused, one of the women told him to "Go back to Asia and eat a dog," among other not-so-nice remarks. Because, yes, racist taunts are the totally reasonable response to someone refusing to buy you drinks.
She reportedly got up in the victim's face and when he pushed her away for some space, another man charged and punched him in the face. Security responded and escorted the couple out of the OC Night Market.
But later that evening, as the victim and his girlfriend were walking back to his car after the event, he was confronted and attacked by the duo we will from this point on refer to as the Violently Racist Couple. They had apparently been waiting for him to leave, followed him back to his car, and jumped him.
"The moment I got to my car, a black sedan pulled up," the victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells the OC Weekly. "The guy immediately went after me and everything else was a blur."
The victim suffered bruises and lacerations to his face requiring stitches, and several chipped teeth. The victim's girlfriend was also punched in the face when she tried to intervene. According to witnesses, the Violently Racist Couple drove off in a black sedan, but not before the guy yelled some more anti-Asian slurs while hanging out of the passenger side window. Well, that's classy as shit.
The victim's friend posted details about assault on Facebook, along with a photo from the emergency room.
Anybody having doubts that this was a hate crime?
Well, the cops, apparently. The victim spoke with Orange County Sheriff Deputies this week, and says the assault, at this point, is not being investigated as a hate crime.
"I can confirm that we were called out on Sunday [in] reference [to] a fight that occurred in the parking lot of the fair grounds," Lt. Lane Lagaret said in an email to OC Weekly. "The case is being investigated, but we have not identified the other person(s) involved. The details of what led to the fight is also being investigated."
The assailant is described as a slim white male in his 20s, standing about 6-foot-3 with tattoo sleeves. He was with two white women driving a four-door black Mercedes Benz sedan. They were last seen at the OC Fair Grounds parking lot at around 11:00pm on Sunday night.
Meanwhile, the victim's friends have set up a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for his medical expenses. Thankfully, he is expected to fully recover, but he's stuck with bills for emergency medical services and dental work that he can't afford. To read more about his situation and kick in a few bucks to help him out, go here.
