CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - An Asian American Iraq War veteran brutally attacked last week in the South Loop says he wants to turn a negative into a positive.
In an exclusive interview with WBBM, Kevin Qin described his state of mind moments after being knocked unconscious in an attack at the entrance of the South Loop Jewel-Osco that he claimed involved up to 10 people. He was in disbelief, he said.
“In a way, it’s better that it happened to me rather than somebody else who may not be able to protect themself as much as I did or who may not be speaking up afterwards,” Qin said.
He told WBBM that his attackers used anti-Asian racial slurs and even made death threats toward him.
Some Asian American activists now want this investigated as a hate crime.
Whether his attackers are prosecuted or not, the most important thing to Qin, who was just going to the store to get some ice cream, is to see an effort made to create a safer environment at the corner of Wabash and Roosevelt. The corner has always made him feel uneasy, but he didn’t think something like this would happen to him.
“I don’t think it takes that much to clean up, if not the whole city of Chicago, at least a corner. We gotta start somewhere,” Qin said.
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok