A man in Salt Lake City, Utah, has been arrested and accused of trying to gouge a bus driver’s eye. The victim believes he was attacked because of his Asian American descent.
According to FOX 13, authorities have arrested Cameron Michael Ward, 25, for allegedly assaulting a bus driver on Dec. 20. On Tuesday he was charged with two first-degree felonies of disarming a police officer, one third-degree felony count of aggravated assault, two misdemeanor counts of assaulting an officer, and one misdemeanor of interfering with an arrest.
On the day of the attack, Neil Uemura, a UTA bus driver, pulled into the Millcreek Trax Station to take a break. According to ABC 4, Uemura allegedly saw Ward slam his body into an electrical box before he approached him. He asked Uemura where he was from before allegedly beating and kicking him.
According to KSL, Uemura believes Ward targeted him because he was Asian American. It is unclear if Utah authorities plan to treat the incident as a hate crime.
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