Police appeal for witnesses to horror attack on young Asian woman

‘This is a very concerning incident’

Vancouver police have appealed for information and witnesses following an unsolved attack on an Asian woman in the city on New Year’s Eve.

The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) on Wednesday released video showing the 22-year-old woman being thrown against a wall in broad daylight.

She had departed the Hotel Georgia on Vancouver’s West Georgia Street on 31 December when the attack unfolded at around 3.30pm, the department said,

“This is a very concerning incident,” said police constable Tania Visintin to the Vancouver Sun. “The victim was just walking down the street minding her own business when it occurred.”

The police appeal follows a months-long search for the male suspect seen in the video, who ran from the scene in Vancouver’s downtown area.

It remains unclear if the attack was being treated as a racially motivated incident, and the woman was not thought to have to been injured.

“At the time of the assault, he was wearing grey pants, a black jacket on top of a black shirt with a logo in the middle and a black toque,” the VPD said on Wednesday.

Video of a New Year’s Eve attack on a woman (Vancouver Police Department)

The man, who was also wearing headphones and carrying a blue bag, walked east on West Georgia Street following the incident.

According to The Guardian, Vancouver recorded 98 Asian hate crime incidents last year – which was more than all US cities combined.

An article published in Bloomberg meanwhile described the city recently as “the Anti-Asian Hate Crime Capital of North America”, following a 71 per cent rise in such crimes.