Arrest made in series of attacks on Asian Americans in Oakland

A 28-year-old man has been arrested and charged with elder abuse, assault, battery and committing offenses while on bail over his alleged involvement in the beatings of three Asian American men in Oakland, Calif.

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Department arrested Yahya Muslim on suspicion of attacking the three men, Linh Huynh, Ken Wong and Gilbert Diaz, according to CBS San Francisco. Diaz is 91 years old, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the news station.

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley attributed the attacks to a rise in racist bias against Asian Americans coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Trump administration frequently referred to COVID-19 as the “China Virus” in tweets and statements, which advocates for Asian Americans warned was contributing to a surge in anti-Asian sentiment.

“It’s not unique to Chinatown or to the Asian community the increase in crime we’ve seen across the city and across the county, but we have seen in the last several weeks and month a very specific increase in crimes committed against Asians,” O’Malley said, according to CBS San Francisco.

Muslim’s arrest comes after actor Daniel Dae Kim and others announced rewards for information leading to the perpetrator’s arrest, citing a need to fight back against racism.

“Those of us who have been following these issues since COVID started have seen these kinds of incidents in our news feeds pop up almost daily, and yet we see very little being done about it,” Kim told CBS News.