Philadelphia cops seek suspects in violent robberies that targeted Asian men
Philadelphia police are searching for two suspects believed responsible for at least three violent robberies targeting Asian men in Center City's Chinatown area from June 14-16.
About the incidents: The Chinatown attack spree began at around 9:30 p.m. on June 14 when a 62-year-old man was approached by two individuals on the 900 block of Cherry Street. When the victim tried to flee, one suspect punched him in the head and face — causing him to fall — before both continued to beat him and steal his wallet. An hour later that night, a 27-year-old man walking near a parking lot on the 800 block of Arch Street was tackled from behind by one suspect, while the other demanded his wallet. They then beat him and stole his wallet and AirPods. The final known attack occurred at 9:30 p.m. on June 16, when two masked suspects wearing all-black clothing confronted a 16-year-old boy in a parking lot on the 100 block of North 9th Street, punching and kicking him before fleeing with $5 that fell from his pocket.
What authorities are saying: Officials believe the robberies were racially motivated attacks against Asian men. 'It would appear that these offenders were specifically targeting males of Asian descent, which would make this a hate crime. When we catch these individuals, they will also be charged with ethnic intimidation, along with robbery and related offenses,' Capt. Jason Smith of Central Detectives told WPVI. Authorities released surveillance footage Thursday showing the suspects and concluded from video analysis that other Asian individuals were approached but not robbed, revealing a systematic targeting pattern.
Trending on NextShark:
Anyone with information about the incidents can call Philadelphia police at 215-686-TIPS (8477) or submit anonymous tips online.
This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices.
Trending on NextShark:
Subscribe free to join the movement. If you love what we're building, consider becoming a paid member — your support helps us grow our team, investigate impactful stories, and uplift our community.
Subscribe here now!
Trending on NextShark:
Download the NextShark App:
Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jess Phillips condemns 'idiot' councils that don't believe they have grooming gang problem
Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips has told Sky News that councils that believe they don't have a problem with grooming gangs are "idiots" - as she denied Elon Musk influenced the decision to have a national inquiry on the subject. The minister said: "I don't follow Elon Musk's advice on anything although maybe I too would like to go to Mars. "Before anyone even knew Elon Musk's name, I was working with the victims of these crimes." Politics latest: Starmer responds to report suggesting tax rises needed Mr Musk had called Ms Phillips a "rape genocide apologist" in one of a series of inflammatory posts on X in January and said she should go to jail. Mr Musk, then a close aide of US President Donald Trump, sparked a significant political row with his comments - with the Conservative Party and Reform UK calling for a new public inquiry into grooming gangs. At the time, Ms Phillips denied a request for a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham on the basis that it should be done at a local level. But the government announced a national inquiry after Baroness Casey's rapid audit on grooming gangs, which was published in June. Asked if she thought there was, in the words of Baroness Casey, "over representation" among suspects of Asian and Pakistani men, Ms Phillips replied: "My own experience of working with many young girls in my area - yes there is a problem. There are different parts of the country where the problem will look different, organised crime has different flavours across the board. "But I have to look at the evidence… and the government reacts to the evidence." Ms Phillips also said the home secretary has written to all police chiefs telling them that data collection on ethnicity "has to change", to ensure that it is always recorded, promising "we will legislate to change the way this [collection] is done if necessary". Read more: Operation Beaconport has since been established, led by the National Crime Agency (NCA), and will be reviewing more than 1,200 closed cases of child sexual exploitation. Ms Phillips revealed that at least "five, six" councils have asked to be a part of the national review - and denounced councils that believed they don't have a problem with grooming gangs as "idiots". "I don't want [the inquiry] just to go over places that have already had inquiries and find things the Casey had already identified," she said. She confirmed that a shortlist for a chair has been drawn up, and she expects the inquiry to be finished within three years. Ms Phillips's comments come after she announced £426,000 of funding to roll out artificial intelligence tools across all 43 police forces in England and Wales to speed up investigations into modern slavery, child sex abuse and county lines gangs. Some 13 forces have access to the AI apps, which the Home Office says have saved more than £20m and 16,000 hours for investigators. The apps can translate large amounts of text in foreign languages and analyse data to find relationships between suspects.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Korean American researcher held at airport for weeks over decade-old weed conviction
[Source] A 40-year-old scientist and legal permanent resident has been detained by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection at San Francisco International Airport since July 21. Tae Heung 'Will' Kim, who has lived in the U.S. since age 5, was returning from his brother's wedding in South Korea when agents cited a 2011 misdemeanor marijuana conviction as grounds for his detention. Devastated family Kim is a Ph.D. student at Texas A&M University developing a vaccine for Lyme disease. According to his legal team, he has previously traveled internationally for academic work without incident. Relatives describe Kim as a devoted son and brother who has spent 35 years in the U.S. and built a career focused on public health research. Sharon Lee, Kim's mother, described her anguish: 'When my other child called and told me they arrested Will, my heart felt like the sky and earth fell. It feels like the world has ended. I've been so worried. We haven't been able to talk with him. I can't sleep or eat. As a mother, I want my son to be safe and free.' Conditions of detention Attorney Karl Krooth, an immigration lawyer in San Francisco, said Kim's detention has far exceeded CBP's internal 72-hour holding limit for airports. 'I've never seen anyone held that long. A prolonged detention indicates to me that there is a degree of coercion or inducement afoot.' Trending on NextShark: Krooth reported that Kim was 'moved within secondary inspection at least twice per day,' kept in windowless rooms with lights on 24 hours a day, denied exercise or fresh air, forced to sleep in a chair, and given only concession food and water. Kim, who has asthma, reportedly struggled to access medication. Since his detention began, he has had almost no communication with family or counsel, and his legal team believes he may now be held at a facility in Arizona. Alarming trend Kim's detention comes amid a rise in cases where legal permanent residents are held over minor or decades-old offenses under stricter immigration enforcement. Civil rights groups and immigration attorneys report that green card holders are increasingly stopped or removed at airports for low-level convictions, including individuals who have spent most of their lives in the U.S. Becky Belcore, co-director of the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium, called Kim's treatment alarming for 'every person who values their freedom and rights.' Belcore criticized both major political parties for failing to represent all residents and called for swift action to protect the rights and freedoms the U.S. claims to uphold. 'Immigrants have been used as a scapegoat for the Trump administration to test the will of the People, and to build the infrastructure to enact an authoritarian regime,' she added. Trending on NextShark: This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices. Subscribe free to join the movement. If you love what we're building, consider becoming a paid member — your support helps us grow our team, investigate impactful stories, and uplift our community. Trending on NextShark: Subscribe here now! Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today!
Fox News
9 hours ago
- Fox News
TV host recounts harrowing filming nightmare that left him 'nearly sentenced to death'
Cocaine hippos, narrow escapes from the law and bringing extinct animals back to life – the latest installment of the "Sean" podcast explores a series of quirky topics, and you can catch it on Fox Nation. Sean Hannity hosts conservation educator and TV host Forrest Galante, who sits down to talk about his wildest adventures – with one taking listeners to Myanmar, where he endured a nail-biting threat of imprisonment while filming for The History Channel. "We're sitting there in the country with this illegal drone, and I'm like, 'We can't make a TV show without it…'" The eagerness to collect footage meant Galante and his team were weighing a hefty risk. On the one hand, the show must go on. On the other, getting caught meant facing life in prison. Just one week earlier, such drones weren't illegal in the southeast Asian nation – but the eagerness to avoid bad press after the Rohingya massacre created the climate for a perfect storm. In the days of bulkier, less-discreet drones, concealing one while going through customs would be no easy feat for Galante's team. Galante's team, unaware of the law change until their arrival in Myanmar, had to strategically break down their equipment and hide it in backpacks. Their effort to get through customs unscathed proved successful. "We're like, 'Ah, we're scot-free. We're so clever,' high-fiving, everything. We reassemble, we are shooting with it every day. We're snickering, we think we're great. We literally broke the law. I'm not the most proud of that, but at the time, it seemed like it was okay," he recalled. But things took a turn for the worse when their sneaky operation was exposed on CCTV, and local authorities came calling. "They're threatening us with literally life imprisonment if we don't turn over the drone and turn ourselves in," he revealed. Left with little choice, his crew ditched the drone and weighed their next steps. "We had a guy fly in and take out hard drives with the footage, and the crew was freaking out," Galante told Hannity. Seeking help, he called the U.S. embassy and explained the situation. Their reply was blunt: "Well, you broke the law. There's nothing we can do. Click." The team had to strategize again, this time formulating a plan to stagger their departure and fly out of the country in pairs on different days to break down their large group and appear less suspicious. As the head of the crew, Galante went first, and what happened next only added to the nail-biting encounter. To learn what happened next and how Galante was 'nearly sentenced to death,' subscribe to Fox Nation and begin streaming the August 5 installment of "Sean" now.
