John Lawrence, 39, has been arrested. He is accused of attacking an Asian man, 76, in Oakland, Alameda County, California, United States.
The victim’s name, residence and ethnicity have yet to be released. Lawrence’s residence is also still unknown.
Lawrence and the victim do not know each other. At around 8:30 a.m. on March 16, 2021, the former approached the latter on the 400 block of 7th St. near Broadway in Oakland.
“Good morning,” the elderly Asian man told Lawrence, according to a police source who provided information about the attack to KPIX5. Lawrence reportedly replied, “You better calm down.”
After punching the elderly Asian man in the face, Lawrence fled the scene. The victim suffered minor injuries from the unprovoked attack.
At around 7:35 p.m. on March 17, 2021, Oakland Police Department officers arrested Lawrence. He was charged with elder abuse and is expected to face additional physical assault charges.
Lawrence was booked into Santa Rita Jail. His bail was set at $50,000.
No other information about the suspect is available aside from his name and age. He is expected to appear in court at 9:00 a.m. on March 19, 2021.
Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is the county seat of Alameda County.
Libby Schaaf, 55, has been serving as the 50th Oakland mayor since January 5, 2015. She is a former member of the Oakland City Council.
On the same day Lawrence attacked an elderly Asian man in the city, the Oakland City Council voted unanimously to place the civilian response program called the Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland (MACRO) in the Oakland Fire Department. The program will be in a pilot phase for a year, KRON4 reported.
CONAN Daily 