Chicago violent crimes against Asian American on the rise, police say - WLS-TV

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CHICAGO (WLS) -- Earlier this month, a 58-year-old Vietnamese man was out for a walk near Broadway and Argyle when police said he was punched in the head from behind. When he turned, reports state he saw a man holding a baseball bat staring at him.

The incident is just one example of more and more people of Asian descent falling victim to violent crimes in Chicago.

In fact, last year Asian Americans experienced a higher increase in the number of violent crimes perpetrated against them than any other ethnic group, according to Chicago police. There was a 7% increase in these violent crime from 2019 to 2020, with a total of 634 victims in 2020.

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"The reasons are kind of irrelevant," said Andy Kang with Asian Americans Advancing Justice. "We're seeing a lot of anxiety, a lot of fear. A lot of frustration and anger about some of the high profile crimes we've seen committed against Asian Americans."

Advocates believe part of the reason behind the increase is a direct result of pandemic-related discrimination.

"I have experienced it myself. I've had friends who have experienced it, family who have experienced it," said Denise Huang with Kan-Win. "It's definitely related to being seen as foreigners. Being seen as carriers of disease."

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Identifying violent crimes as motivated by hate remains a challenge, especially in communities where language barriers and immigration status lead to under reporting.

Officially, CPD has only reported two cases of hate crimes stemming from anti-Asian bias in all of 2020.

"We should have a conversation if our law enforcement officers are equipped to investigate these types of crimes, because we know it takes additional work," Kang said. "It takes the collection of additional evidence, and as we saw in Atlanta, law enforcement isn't always equipped to show those cultural sensitivities."

About 6% of Chicago's population identifies as Asian.

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