Elderly Asian-American women at great risk of assault in SF

Three such attacks took place last month in San Francisco, home to one of the biggest Asian and Asian American communities in the country.

Two of the victims were Asian women in  their 80s, meaning they were most likely not only grandmothers but possibly great grandmothers. The two were victims of unprovoked attacks in downtown San Francisco in July.

The third victim was much younger at 63, but she suffered the worst fate, passing away after she had been pushed to the ground.

A report that came out in The San Francisco Standard said that the most recent victim who was in her 80s suffered life-threatening injuries including internal bleeding. She had been thrown and kicked to the ground.

A witness to the attack was able to detain the suspect, identified as James Lee Ramsey. Charges against him are pending.

A week before, an 86-year-old woman was also pushed to the ground in a similar unprovoked assault. She suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to the San Francisco Police Department.

Names of the victims were not released, although in the first case the person who attacked the helpless victim was described as a Caucasian male in his 30s.

The two recent attacks came after another victim was fatally shoved, causing her to hit her head on the ground. The injury proved fatal.

The SFPD initially ruled the incident an accident, but later determined that it was a hate crime.

Data from the SFPD says that the Asian American and Pacific Islander community comprise 11 percent of assault victims citywide and 25 percent of elder abuse victims, making them the highest percentage among all racial groups.

Filipinos and Filipino-Americans are included in the AAPI category.

Nationwide data culled by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism last year found that anti-Asian hate crimes went up by 339  percent in 2021 compared to 2020.

Being the most vulnerable, seniors have suffered the highest increase in attacks since 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began. San Francisco experienced the highest increase in assaults against the AAPI community ever seen last year, with a hike of 567 percent compared to 2021.

The data should serve as both a warning and a reminder that senior citizens should never be left alone in areas where attacks have been known to take place.

It must be noted that something as simple as a shove can result in fatal consequences. So even if an attacker is apprehended, it may be too late for the senior citizen.