Eagle Rock - A 70-year-old woman was badly injured on a Metro bus late last week when she was allegedly assaulted by another passenger, according to her son.
Police have confirmed there has been an arrest in the case, but have released no details about the incident.
The victim’s face and eyes were left swollen, her nose was broken, hair was pulled out of her head and she suffered a concussion, according to her son, who identified himself as Pete. He provided photos of the injured woman to The Eastsider.
The woman, identified only as Becky, was attempting to get off the 81 bus at La Loma Road and Figueroa Street early Friday afternoon. She was headed to the nearby Vons supermarket to shop for her granddaughter, her son said.
The assault began with a racial slur
Another passenger -- who was described as a Black woman age 25 to 30 -- called the elderly woman a racial epithet that has been applied to people of Chinese descent. The victim is in fact Mexican-American. She and her family - longtime residents of Highland Park - are often mistaken for Asian, her son said.
The victim was attacked and injured by the other passenger and was ultimately dragged from the back of the bus to the front, according to her son.
“Nobody would help. Not even the bus driver,” Pete said.
The attack only ended when a passenger called 911.
The suspect was later arrested on another bus after police issued a bulletin, Pete said.
LAPD Officer M. Hernandez did not release any official information about the suspect or where she was arrested But he confirmed she was still in custody when last he checked.
The victim was held in the hospital for 24 hours and released. Her son said she has difficulty walking. Her leg was badly bruised in the incident, compounding a preexisting condition of lupus arthritis and other disabilities.
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(4) comments
Here is a GoFundMe to help her with medical expenses. Let's give her some support. https://www.gofundme.com/f/pbvzct-help-becky-recover?utm_campaign=m_pd%20share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer&fbclid=IwAR0yvj5QCYKj6eoe0egw2vkYyMJOgMmc5RjnqQLhuP1sKEkDxlTI-5ceb8g
This is definitely a hate crime and should be reported as one.
She was called a racial epithet and beaten very badly.
Poor woman. I saw the photos on a news channel. Terrible.
This is clearly a hate crime. Why is it not being reported as such?
No doubt this is a hate crime. Where is the outrage? Where are the protesters? The attackers are African American and everyone is afraid to say it. Are eastsiders doing anything? What an embarrassment....your people get beaten and your okay with it? Seriously? But if it had been a white dude....Omg Antifa would be here in no time. Wake up gente
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