The man who police say stabbed two elderly Asian American women on Market Street in San Francisco earlier this week, refused to show up for his arraignment Friday.
Fifty-four year old Patrick Thompson was due to be arraigned in the unprovoked attack against two women, age 85 and 64, on Tuesday, but he refused to come to court. San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin was at the Hall of Justice to prosecute the case, which was the latest in a string of violence against Asian American people.
"Mr. Thompson is in jail. He isn’t going anywhere," Boudin said. "He will come to court sooner or later. And until then he will remain in custody and that will assure us that the public is safe."
However Leanna Louie, who came to hold up signs outside the hall of justice with a group calling for an end to hate attacks on Asians, felt differently.
"When I grew up here it was safe. When I was 7, 8, 9 or 10 I was able to go everywhere and feel safe," Louie told KCBS Radio. "Now people can’t even walk out the door without the fear of being stabbed."
The DA added that he met with the victims in the hospital, and they were very badly injured but are expected to make full recoveries.
"At this point in time we don’t have any information that suggest a specific motive such as hate crime, but I will remind you that each of the two murder charges we filed independently carries a maximum punishment of life in prison," Boudin said.
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