A possible anti-Asian hate crime is being investigated near the UC Berkeley campus after someone threw rocks at another person, according to authorities.
An aggravated assault was reported Monday at about 8:45 a.m. near the intersection of Ellsworth Street and Durant Avenue, according to the University of California Police Department, Berkeley.
An unknown person tried to assault someone else using rocks, police said. The assailant wasn’t arrested. Based on the information provided about the incident, authorities believe it was an anti-Asian hate crime.
University of California police didn’t immediately respond to a request for further information Tuesday morning. Witnesses of the incident were encouraged by police to report information to UCPD at (510) 642-6760.
Hate crimes against Asian Americans rose 177.5% in California from 2020 to 2021, according to the California Department of Justice’s annual report on hate crimes. Over the last year, anti-Asian hate crimes increased from 89 to 247.
Anti-Asian hate crime began to rise in 2020, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic’s origins in China. Assaults on Asians were reported in San Francisco and Oakland, as well as the March 2021 shootings of six Asian women at spas in the Atlanta area.