A man armed with a blowtorch, axe and knife attempted to light a group of Asian American customers on fire at a boba shop in Berkeley, California, CBS San Francisco reports.
Angelique told CBS San Francisco that she and her friends were waiting in line at Feng Cha Teahouse when a man chased a few people into the store and sprayed three of her friends with WD40 and set a fire with a small torch.
Noel Nubla, who was one of three sprayed with WD40, told CBS San Francisco they chased the man outside when it appeared he was attempting to light the torch again.
“Once we got outside we were kind of just bumping fists. He got me in the face a couple times and then I got him back he started bleeding and then I took him down to the ground, saw him pull out the knife … I yelled out ‘he’s got a knife he’s got a knife!” Nubla told CBS San Francisco. “I wanted everyone to back off. I saw it, I pulled him down, he got to the floor his hand was there, I stepped on his wrist pulled him up disarmed him from the knife.”
The police later arrived and arrested the man, who Angelique said on Twitter left in an ambulance. The victims were left with singed hair and a few scratches but weren’t seriously injured.
The man had allegedly been harassing other pedestrians before entering the boba shop. Witnesses say that the man repeatedly yelled, “This is not your fight.” He also kept mentioning his desire to see his daughter.
The victims emphasized that they do not believe the attack was racially motivated. Angelique spoke more about the attack in a Notes app statement she posted to Twitter.
“We do not know what triggered the outburst & i am sure it had nothing to do with racism or hate,” she wrote. “i believe that the man might have been on something and/or was mentally ill.”
She added that the experience was traumatizing and thanked everyone who continued to check up on her.
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