Arrest Made In Attack On Asian Couple Caught On Video: Tacoma PD

TACOMA, WA — An arrest has been made in connection to an attack that was seen on video, which showed a young man attacking an older Asian couple in the Tacoma area.

The video first made waves Wednesday, when it was posted to Twitter, garnering hundreds of retweets and over 25,000 views. In it, a young man can be seen approaching and attacking the couple in the yard of their Tacoma home, apparently at random.

Later that day, Tacoma Police posted that they had been made aware of the video, and were investigating the incident as a hate crime.

Police announced over the weekend they had arrested a 15-year-old boy in connection with the attack and he has been charged with second-degree assault.

According to police, the video in question had actually been taken on Nov. 19, 2020. One of the victims, a 56-year-old man, was not aware it had been filmed.

The video likely resurfaced and gained traction due to the recent national focus on anti-Asian hate crimes.

The Atlanta Spa shooting, though not officially recognized by police as being racially-motivated, killed six Asian women at three Asian-owned massage parlors and spas, and spurred a national conversation on anti-Asian hatred. Anti-hate activists have also been sounding the alarm over rising numbers of crimes in Washington and across the country where the victims have been Asian.

Related: Anti-Asian Hate Crimes On The Rise In Washington