San Francisco Police Arrest Suspect in Attacks on Elderly Asians
IN CUSTODY
Thirty-nine-year-old Steven Jenkins was arrested Thursday for allegedly attacking two elderly Asian San Francisco residents, KPIX reported. One of the victims, 75-year-old Xiao Zen Xie, went viral on Twitter for fighting back, and can be seen in a video with a black eye. Both victims suffered minor, non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Jenkins allegedly committed the assaults just thirty minutes after he was involved in a physical fight at the UN Plaza nearby, witnesses said. He is accused of first attacking the 83-year-old male victim, managing to escape from a security guard, and then assaulting Xie. The guard was reportedly able to detain Jenkins after Xie fought back. Jenkins was taken to the San Francisco County Jail and faces four different charges for assault and elder abuse. While officials believe both attacks to be unprovoked, they have said they are still unsure at this time whether racial bias was a factor in the assaults.