Police are hoping someone can identify a man who attacked an elderly man while he was walking his dog.
The man was assaulted Friday at Sierra Vista Middle School at about 7 p.m. when a black and white husky approached him and his dog. The man went to pick up his 15-pound pup when he was hit in the back of the head by a man who had been jogging on the track near him.
The jogger left the track with his dog, and the man was rushed to a local hospital for treatment.
Sarah Nguyen, who identified herself on Twitter as the daughter of the man who was attacked says she was left “speechless.”
“Yesterday a man assaulted my 70yo dad as he was picking up my 16lb dog to protect him from a husky. A man came from behind and kicked his head and shoulder, then stepped on his hand and kept bleeding. He had to go to the ER. #StopAAPIHate #StopAsianHateCrimes,” she wrote on Twitter the following day.
Irvine police have not publicly identified the victim of the attack and are investigating the possibility that it was a hate crime.
The suspect was described as a man in his late teens with a darker complexion. He was last seen wearing a dark tee-shirt over a white, long-sleeved shirt, dark shorts over white leggings or shin guards, black athletic shoes, and carrying a white backpack. Police say he may have been driving or riding in a white sedan or couple-style vehicle.
Anyone with information can contact Irvine police Detective Gavin Hudson at (949) 724-7168 or GHudson@cityofirvine.org.