Two boys, including an 11-year-old caught driving a stolen car, were arrested Wednesday after a violent robbery of an elderly Asian man in Northern California, officials said.
The 80-year-old victim was strolling near the 14200 block of Acapulco Road in San Leandro, about 12 miles south of downtown Oakland, Saturday afternoon when two people in hoodies jumped him and swiped his Fitbit in an attack captured on a home security camera.
The suspects, 11 and 17, were arrested at 1:50 p.m. PT on Wednesday, authorities said. The younger one was driving a vehicle that had been taken in a carjacking in Oakland on Monday, according to San Leandro police.
The boys are also being investigated in connection with “other crimes these juveniles may be associated with,” police said in a statement.
“We are thankful that we were able to capture these juveniles safely and expeditiously,” police Lt. Ali Khan said in the statement.
It wasn’t immediately clear what role, if any, race might have played in the attack. The suspects’ races have not been released.
Lawyers for the boys and a representative for the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday.
The status of the victim is unclear.
A recent analysis of hate crime data revealed that the increase in anti-Asian attacks has remained consistent.
The analysis, released by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, found that hate crimes surged 169 percent when comparing the first quarter of 2021 to the same time period in 2020 across 15 major cities.
New York City accounted for the largest surge, from 13 hate crimes in the first quarter of 2020 to 42 in the same period this year — a 223 percent jump, according to the research.
The Senate last month overwhelmingly passed legislation aimed at combating this rise in anti-Asian crimes.
