(SANTA CLARA, CA – 7/26/2023) – The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned recent attacks on Asian American elders in San Francisco.
First reported in the English and Chinese-language Wind Newspaper, three unprovoked attacks occurred in July alone. All three incidents involved Chinese elder women being violently thrown to the ground, resulting in the first victim’s death from a fatal head wound, a broken hip in the second victim, and internal bleeding in the third, most recent victim. These attacks are part of a larger trend of increasing violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities in San Francisco and nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.
In a statement, CAIR-SFBA Executive Director Zahra Billoo said:
“The persistent violence against members of the AAPI community, particularly targeting vulnerable seniors, is alarming and deeply concerning. These senseless acts of violence are reprehensible and have no place in our communities. We stand in solidarity with the victims, their families and the AAPI community at large.”
SEE ALSO: Man charged in ‘horrific’ SF assault of elderly Asian American woman
CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those challenging antisemitism, systemic anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, white supremacy, and all other forms of bigotry.
CAIR-SFBA is an office of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
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CONTACT: Lorrie Adam, CAIR-SFBA Senior Communications Coordinator, 408 498-5779, ladam@cair.com