Police in Oakland, California are warning Chinatown residents that robberies and burglaries are on the rise, CBS San Francisco reports.
Chinatown community leaders are now asking for more police protection, according to ABC7.
“We are living in fear every day,” Chiu Szeto told ABC7.
Residents and leaders also expressed concerned that the community members are also being physically injured while they are robbed. Just last week a video of surfaced of a man charging at 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee, knocking him to the ground and ultimately killing him, according to CBS San Francisco.
Community leaders say they worry that crime has increased in the area because of hateful anti-Chinese rhetoric that has risen out of the pandemic.
“Our community is certainly being targeted and being blamed for COVID, and certainly anti-China, anti-Chinese, and anti-immigrant climate under the former president didn’t help the situation,” Co-Executive Director, Chinese For Affirmative Action Cynthia Choi told CBS San Francisco.
Police have allocated more resources and police patrols to Chinatown heading into Lunar New Year.
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