Police investigating possible hate crime after car drives through crowd at ‘Stop Asian Hate’ rally

Police in Los Angeles County are investigating a possible hate crime after a suspect drove a car into a crowd during a “Stop Asian Hate” rally on Tuesday. 

A man driving the vehicle screamed racial epithets as he drove the car through the pedestrian route where the protest was taking place, according to ABC News. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said the department is investigating the incident as a potential hate crime.

Video shows demonstrators attempting to cross a street in the crosswalk in Diamond Bar when a man is heard yelling “f— China” and making a U-turn to drive through the intersection where the protestors were walking. 

Nobody was struck by the vehicle and no injuries have been reported to police. 

“The brazenness of doing this at an Anti-Hate rally speaks to the level that people will go to harass and bully communities of color,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement, according to ABC7 News. 

The suspect was identified as a white male in his 50s, police announced, saying they were able to track him down using pictures of his license plate taken during the incident. 

Since a string of shootings at massage parlors in the Atlanta area that left six Asian American women dead, activists and lawmakers have been warning of the growing threat of violence against Asian minorities in the U.S. 

Several “Stop Asian Hate” demonstrations have taken place in cities around the country following last week’s shootings.