Recent attacks alarm Jersey City’s Chinese American community

Police in Jersey City are on the lookout for an Asian man suspected in a series of attacks against the Chinese community.

The attacks have occurred in the Journal Square neighborhood of the city, according to the Hudson Reporter.

“If it has not been done yet, we respectfully urge the Jersey City Police Department to establish a special investigation unit and a dedicated hotline for people with any information related to these crimes with translators available as necessary,” the Jersey City-AAPI Coalition said in a statement.

NJ.com reports the series of attacks began as far back as February, according to social media accounts cited by the Chinese-language paper, the World Journal.

A 25-year-old student reported being punched in the head on February 10. Then on June 10, an international student reported someone threw a brick at the back of his head. Police received a similar account from a different international student on July 12 while another victim reports being hit with a hammer.

“While the early reports suggest that an Asian American may be the assailant, we urge Jersey City investigators to still investigate these attacks as potential Asian hate crimes. While the attacker may be of Asian descent, this does not preclude the attacker from committing a hate crime as occurred in Laguna Woods, California earlier this year,” the JC-AAPI Coalition said to Tap into Jersey City.

NJ.com reports the incidents have attracted much chatter on social media, but it said it has not found any evidence that the crimes have caused people to change their behavior.

Lena Wang says she already looks over her shoulder when going out at night, especially early on since the pandemic when news spread about the rise of anti-Asian hate.