Police in Portland, Oregon arrested a 29-year-old man for allegedly carrying out a series of anti-Asian attacks.
According to Yahoo News, Zion Cochran allegedly shouted towards a group of Asians entering a Mama Bird restaurant, claiming that he “hate[s] Asians”. He was then said to have been spotted throwing chairs, dinnerware and glasses.
Witnesses accused Cochran of then following two Asian women, demanding that they not walk away from him, before violently shoving one of them.
Oregon Live reports that a bystander and a restaurant employee both restrained Cochran. The two teamed up to pin him to the ground until police arrived. Paramedics sedated the suspect who they sent to a local hospital for evaluation.
Witnesses claimed that Cochran appeared to be in an unfit state of mind.
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Police reportedly cited Cochran on four counts of felony and misdemeanor criminal mischief, but did not cite him for any hate-related charges or crimes of assault or harassment because police officers were unsuccessful in locating Cochran’s targets to get firsthand accounts from them.
Although it is unclear what happened to Cochran afterwards, it is estimated that he will be ordered to appear in court on criminal charges within the next 30 days, according to Oregon Live.
This incident is among the series of recent attacks against Asian Americans in Portland. Hate crimes and incidents reported to the state’s Bias Response Hotline have nearly tripled in the past three years, according to the Oregon Department of Justice.
“I think safety in the city is a [serious] issue,” said Sean Milligan who witnessed the attack. “It’s scary for a lot of people but specifically people of color that are being targeted.”
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