Man arrested after alleged anti-Asian attack in Chinatown

An Asian man was the victim of a racially-motivated attack Tuesday night in Chinatown, according to police.

Several 911 calls came in just before 7:45 p.m. saying a man was assaulting the 55-year-old victim while shouting anti-Asian slurs on the 300 block of N. 10th Street.

Police said officers used a taser on the suspect, a 30-year-old Black man, twice before arresting him. The victim was not injured.

Authorities have not identified the suspect, and they have not said what, if any, charges will be filed. He was taken to Jefferson University Hospital for evaluation.

Following the March 16 shootings that killed eight people, including six Asian women, at a series of spas in the Atlanta area, local organizers have held rallies calling for an end to violence and harassment against Asian Americans.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, reports of hate crimes targeting Asians have skyrocketed.

Stop AAPI Hate, a nonprofit, documented nearly 3,800 such incidents between March 19, 2020, and Feb. 28, including 97 in Pennsylvania.

Most cases involved verbal harassment or shunning, but, in 11% of the incidents, victims were physically assaulted.