A 65-year-old Filipino was brutally attacked and carjacked at gunpoint outside a restaurant in Oakland, California on Thursday.
The victim was allegedly attacked at gunpoint outside a FoodMaxx grocery store on Thursday afternoon, according to a report from NBC Bay Area News.
The victim was injured after he resisted when the suspect tried to steal his car. He was brought to Highland Hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The victim works as a driver for Lyft and relies on his car for his sole source of income.
“He was hit over the head with a gun and he was trying to stop him from taking his car. So, he put his body to get in the way of getting inside the vehicle and the person took off with his car and dragged his body in the parking lot,” Sara Guillermo, the victim’s niece, told NBC Bay Area.
“While they were trying to steal his car, they thought he was Chinese, so they were talking about COVID and being an Asian American in America,” she said.
Police have yet to determine whether the attack was a hate crime.
The suspect remains at large as of this writing.
The suspect stole a white Toyota Corolla with California license plate "8GMA097." Authorities are asking for help from the public in locating the suspect and the stolen car.