It’s not unusual for families to set up a GoFundMe page when tragedy strikes. But in the recent case of an attack on an 75-year-old Asian woman in San Francisco, 10 times its goal of $50,000 was raised -- in just 21 hours.
John Chen set up the fundraiser for his grandmother Wednesday night after she was assaulted and her face left covered in bruises. But Chen’s grandmother made the news because she valiantly fought back.
As of Friday morning more than $599,000 has been raised for Xiao Zhen Xie.
Click here for the Chen family’s GoFundMe page.
Xie was attacked along Market St in downtown San Francisco at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Witnesses told KPIX-5 at the time that "they saw the woman pummeling the assailant." In video taken at the scene, Xie can be seen yelling at the alleged attacker in Cantonese while he laid on a stretcher with a bloody mouth.
On Thursday, San Francisco Police Department announced an arrest in the case.
The suspect is 39-year-old Steven Jenkins. Police said Thursday he’s also thought to have been involved in a fight at the U.N. Plaza about a half hour before he assaulted an 83-year-old man.
Xie’s family spoke with KPIX-15, after the attack and said she was still "dizzy, very scared, and traumatized," and was unable to see out of her left eye.
According to the most recent update on the GoFundMe page, Xie’s condition has improved, but she’s still obviously shaken from the incident.
“Whenever the issue is brought up to her, she gets extremely emotional and starts crying. We have to constantly calm her down and comfort her from her PTSD. She is still really dizzy and can only eat porridge.”
The post goes on to say that Xie “'hopes the younger generation of Asian Americans can all stand up for one another, and hope they can stick up for the elderly' in Cantonese. We are extremely touched by how supportive the community has been towards our family.”
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