Another anti-Asian violence tragedy: A 63-year-old Chinese woman shoved to death on her way home

(SAN FRANCISCO) A 63-year-old Chinese woman immigrant was shoved to death in the Bayview District on July 3. Members of the Chinese community believed the unprovoked assault was another incident of anti-Asian hate violence against vulnerable elderly Asian women.

The victim was identified as Yan Fang Wu of San Francisco. The incident occurred on July 3 Monday evening at around 6:40 p.m. at 3rd and Egbert Streets.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, police officers from Bayview Station responded to the area of 3rd Street and Egbert Avenue for a report of an aggravated assault. When officers arrived on scene, the female victim was found down on the sidewalk suffering from head injuries.

Officers rendered medical aid and summoned medics to the scene. The victim was later transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. The victim died in the hospital two days later.

Police officers spoke with witnesses who said that the victim was walking on the sidewalk when she was approached from behind by an unknown female suspect who pushed the victim, causing her to fall to the ground and hit her head.

Wu lived with her husband, 71, in a rented apartment about several blocks away from the crime scene. He spoke with Wind Newspaper briefly on the tragedy.

He was devastated for losing his dear wife. They just moved to the apartment in Bayview less than two months ago. Wu worked in a restaurant in the Sunset District.

The neighborhood is not safe. That was why Wu's husband would walk to the bus stop several blocks away from their apartment to pick her up after work everyday.

In the evening of July 3, he walked to the bus stop to pick up his wife as usual. When he arrived at 3rd and Egbert Streets, he saw his wife was lying down on the sidewalk.

"When I saw my wife, she was on the sidewalk. A woman who had dark colored skin was there too. I didn't pay much attention to her. I only tried to save my wife," Wu's husband said in Cantonese.

"My wife was not robbed. She didn't lose anything," Wu's husband confirmed that it was not a robbery.

He and his wife have immigrated to the United States for over 10 years. But their children are all still still living in China.

Members of the Chinese community believed the unprovoked attack was a hate crime. Visitacion Valley leader Marlene Tran agreed.

"My former student who is 74 year old now was assaulted in a similar situation on Market Street in downtown San Francisco in 2020. She was shoved by someone from behind. As a result of the fall to the ground, my former student suffered broken hands," said Tran who taught ESL classes for the immigrants at the San Francisco City College for several decades.

"Three years later today, my student still suffers from the injury in her hands. The pain is still there until now. For all the victims of anti-Asian hate and violence, the pain physically and psychologically to them is irreparable. From federal to state and the city government agencies need to take actions to address the issues and make investment in our community," Tran added.

Tran also urged the San Francisco Police Department to maximize the number of Asian and bilingual officers serving at the Asian neighborhoods including the Bayview, Portola, Visitacion Valley in the southeast area of the City. "More Chinese immigrants have settled down here. Many of them speak very limited English," Tran said.