A man who allegedly pepper sprayed and hurled racist insults at the Asian American owner of an Oakland gas station has been arrested.
The Oakland Police Department tweeted Friday that the man was arrested for assault.
Cwell, the owner of the gas station, said that on March 11, a customer came in wanting to pay for his gas with a pile of quarters. An employee told the man she could not accept them because the quarters would not fit in the till.
That’s when Cwell went over to try and help.
"He just started mouthing off. 'You should go back to China,' like that," Cwell told KGO. He said that after 20 years running a gas station, he was not fazed.
However, he said things shifted after the man threatened to return to the store, so Cwell followed him out to his car to take a photo of his license plate, and started recording him. Video shows the man yelling at him: "Go f--- your mama! Go f--- you mama! You're not from here! You're Asian! Small d---!"
Surveillance footage also shows the man spray something into Cwell’s face.
Cwell said he had to go to the emergency room and plans to press charges.
Police said the case has been turned over to the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.
This is just one of the violent attacks on Asian Americans in the Bay Area in recent months.
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