Among Asian-Americans, many of whom have endured racist taunts, rants and worse during the coronavirus pandemic, the killing of a defenseless older man became a rallying cry. In February, two joggers, women, yelled something about germs at her older son as he played on a dock with a friend. I believe people are better than the worst things they have done," said Breed. Where did the assault happen? Police haven't said anything about a possible motive but they have arrested 19-year-old Antoine Watson and charged him with elder abuse, assault with a deadly weapon and murder. She remains puzzled why on the morning of the attack he left without his Buddhist amulet, a talisman of protection that he always wore around his neck. Only one agreed. pg.acq.push(function() { document.querySelector("#google_image_div").addEventListener('click',function(){ His older daughter, Monthanus, described her father as a devoted Buddhist. Ratanapakdee was on his morning walk last Thursday at around 8:28 a.m. in Anza Vista, San Francisco when Watson rushed towards the victim and pushed him to the ground. Im a bad daughter, she would say. The Thai grandfather had just survived his heart surgery 9 months before, and his doctor told him to walk daily for his exercise. Two days after Vicha died, Eric created a GoFundMe page to raise money for the funeral, which included a photo of Vicha and a description of his assailant derived from a mix of facts and raw emotion: A despicable 19-year-old thug that came to his neighborhood in a stolen vehicle and decided to prove how tough he was by brutalizing a senior citizen, Eric wrote. San Francisco police arrested a 19-year-old man on suspicion of murder following a recent attack on an 84-year-old man in the Anza Vista neighborhood. }) Watson, along with his accomplice in the killing, pled "not guilty" at their court hearings. He was booked on suspicion of murder, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon. Owners of gun stores reported more Asian customers than ever before. San Francisco's chief prosecutor addressed the January death of Vicha Ratanapakdee at a time when many Asian Americans feel targeted based on their race. "The rise in hate incidents against Asian Americans during the pandemic is alarming. An assailant, later identified by police as 19-year-old Antoine Watson, came barreling . document.querySelector("#adunit").addEventListener('click',function(){ Update: Suspect In Brutal Assault That Killed Elderly San Francisco Man The streets were quiet. Her mother had been blaming karma for her fathers death; weakened by his recent heart operations, Vicha often joked that life was getting too painful to bear. Two suspects have been arrested. }); 19-year-old Antoine Watson, pushing . Monthanus knew she should find a counselor for herself, too. The Cost Of Raising Many Children Isn't Just About The Money And these memories, the sense of injustice that still lingered in them, overlapped with other histories still. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. if(document.querySelector("#adunit")){ It was the type of forceful body blow that might have knocked unconscious a young football player in full protective pads. . Shocking video shows attack that killed 84-year-old man in San - KRON4 Surveillance video showed Ratanapakdee walking in the driveway of a home when the suspect barrels him into the victim violently, knocking him to the ground before the suspect casually walks away in the same direction he came from. On the same day, Watson was apprehended at his home in Daly City along with 20-year-old Maylasia Goo . . Video footage shows the teen running at Ratanapakdee and pushing him over, knocking him to the ground. On Jan. 15, he received the first shot of the Moderna vaccine. A few days later, Eric asked me if I saw the news about the recent attack on Carl Chan, the head of Oaklands Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, who has been a vocal supporter of increasing foot patrols and camera surveillance in the neighborhood. We said, Dad, we are going to go back soon! Ms. Monthanus recalled. The trust-building really took us 10 years, Wan says. Antoine turned around and smiled again, until the door closed on him. another video that rocketed around the internet. The mainstream media does not spotlight our stories enough, Nguyen said into the camera, urging her vast following to share the story and tag CNN and MSNBC. ga('create', 'UA-67136960-15', 'auto', 'ads'); window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function(event) { Jaeah Lee is a magazine journalist based in San Francisco, with a focus on criminal justice. Police later identified the suspect as Antoine Watson, 19. Rev. Monthanus gave the nurse her fathers name, his medical-record number and his six prescriptions, which included a high dose of blood thinners. Im just a human being who feels things., He pondered this while sitting in his car, in the spot where Antoine reportedly parked on the morning of the attack on Vicha. Your father is a victim. (Under California law, families of victims are eligible for work compensation only if a minor died or was hospitalized.). Hundreds of people hold a rally Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022, in San Francisco and five other U.S. cities to remember the death of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee. . It's not clear Watson's motivation. After Vicha died, Eric says, he saw so many videos, video after video of attacks in the news. Antoine Watson, 19, . The family of a Thai senior citizen who died after being violently knocked to the . gads_event = event; He often lightened the mood after she argued with her husband, teasing that his daughter talked too much. He disliked the chilly and wet San Francisco winter and missed his favorite southern Thai dishes and his extended family and friends. Man accused of murdering Thai grandfather in S.F. had run-in with I want to know the truth. Malaysia Goo! - Lowyat.NET Hi! he shouted over and over. Suspect to stand trial for shoving death of Vicha Ratanapakdee The long impact of the killing of Vicha Ratanapakdee The killing of Vicha was so plain as day, said Will Lex Ham, a New York-based actor, who after watching the video flew from New York to San Francisco to help lead protests and safety patrols in Asian neighborhoods. Boudin says Antoine Watson was . His death helped awaken the nation to a rise in anti-Asian violence. Police say their suspect Antoine Watson, 19, attacked the senior along Anza Vista and Fortuna . There had been so many attacks since the one on her father. ALSO READ: Suspects Sought In Home Invasion Robbery Of Elderly Woman In San Francisco. She stepped out to check the front and the back of their building. He Came From Thailand to Care For Family. Horrifying video shows attack on 84-yr-old man slammed to ground by 19 DA Boudin Faces Another Round of Outrage Over 'Temper Tantrum - SFist The killing of a Thai man in America has given voice to a united community under the umbrella of an Asian-American identity. Teen Who Pushed Elderly Thai Man to His Death Pleads Not Guilty to Antoine Watson arrested assault w/deadly weapon & elder abuse. Other celebrities joined in. The 2023 salary cap has already been set . On January 29, 2021, investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Watson for 245(a)1 PC - Assault with a Deadly Weapon and 368(b)1 PC - Elder Abuse causing . He didnt take anything from my father, not even the tablet, she says. Let it go. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Another witness said he heard a voice yelling: Why you looking at me? "But when you cross that line, when you commit murder, when you take someone's life like that, we as a city and as a society have to hold you accountable for your actions. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/27/us/asian-american-hate-crimes.html. The video was taken from the same angle as the clip that everyone saw, only this footage was longer. A preliminary hearing for the man accused of fatally pushing Vicha Ratanapakdee in San Francisco last year commenced on Tuesday, reigniting calls for justice and an end to anti-Asian violence. Watson is accused in the deadly attack of Vicha Ratanapakdee in the city's Anza Vista neighborhood on January 28. Then Came a Brutal Attack. In San Francisco, where 36 percent of the population is of Asian descent, 16 percent of crime victims of known ethnicity were Asian, a similar situation to Alameda County. I kept my promise, Dad, she said. People Are Changing Their Profile Photos to Drawing of Thai Man Pushed Youre going to survive, Dad, Monthanus told him. Family of 84-year-old killed in SF believe attack was racially motivated Pa, can you hear me? she repeated. Two hours later, Antoine finally entered the room. We were like, Is this a hate crime? He was like, I cant talk about this, Eric says. Market data provided by Factset. For Mr. Vicha, who stood 5 feet 6 inches and weighed 113 pounds, the attack was fatal. A few hours after speaking with the nurse, a doctor called to ask permission to insert a catheter into a vein in his neck and drill a small hole into his skull, to release pressure from bleeding. Then, on a brisk and misty Northern California winter morning last month, he stepped outside. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), }); Send him story tips at lucas.manfredi@fox.com. Monthanus offered me a pastry and asked if I had seen the latest news, about the 64-year-old Asian woman in Riverside, Calif., who was stabbed in the stomach while walking her dogs and later died of her injuries. Or is this my trauma? }); Antoine didnt wake up Jan. 28, 2021, with the idea of shoving somebody down and killing them, regardless of their race or gender. There was no longer any way to ignore the violence that was happening to people who look like us., Antoine Watson, a 19-year-old resident of neighboring Daly City, was arrested two days after the attack and charged with murder and elder abuse. Anyone who thinks San Francisco is an easy touch, you need to think twice." . A representative for the San Francisco Police Department told FOX News that the agency is unable to confirm that the documents obtained by Lim are police documents. However, his comment to the Timeshassparked the hashtags#JusticeForVicha and #StopAsianHate on social media, which come amid a startling increase in hate incidentsagainst Asian Americans across the United States. In another week, her sons would go back to school, and Monthanus, a food-safety inspector for the city school district, would be back at work. Court documents give the victims name as Gilbert Diaz, and Carl Chan, a community leader and president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, said the victim was Latino. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of Give him a chance, she could hear her father saying. She heard him say severe trauma. The officer said she would have to call the hospital to find out more. No one had been able to identify Vicha his pockets contained a quarter and a pair of keys. Their marigold robes glowed in the sun. Im not a lawyer. But I dont want it to be like that. The San Francisco District Attorney's office told KPIX 5 on Monday that their detention motion to hold 19-year-old Antoine Watson without bail was granted by the court. She worried how the exposure affected her sons. His 20-year-old accomplice who was in the car at the time was also arrested. Watson was apparently vandalizing a car when Ratanapakdee looked at him and changed directions on his walk, Connolly said in his detention motion, citing surveillance footage from the scene. He washed his face, put on a baseball cap and face mask and told his wife he would have the coffee she had prepared for him when he returned. San Francisco police arrested Antoine Watson on Saturday after serving a warrant at a home in Daly City. Monthanus and Eric had been busy arranging her fathers funeral while fielding phone calls and messages from family, friends and strangers. Why was an elderly San Francisco man killed? Was it a hate crime? Vicha Ratanapakdee, a Thailand native who his family says emigrated to America to . SAN FRANCISCO Weary of being cooped inside during the pandemic, Vicha Ratanapakdee was impatient for his regular morning walk. On the corner where Vicha paused in his steps, theres a view of the bay and the skyscrapers downtown. Antoine Watson, with murder and 20-year-old female friend, Maylasia Goo . Monthanus wailed softly. She wanted to keep him alive. He told Monthanus that when the time came, he wanted to be scattered in the bay, the place that became his home. His killing came at a time when other disturbing images and reports were emerging from across the San Francisco Bay. Breed spoke of the shock she felt seeing the brutal assault of Ratanapakdee on video and offered her sympathies to the family. It was just the way that he answered the question that made me feel like he didnt really care about our emotions, about what we were asking about., Boudin, who couldnt discuss the particulars of the case, understood where Eric and Monthanus were coming from. SAN FRANCISCO (CN) Following shockingly brutal attacks that left two elderly men dead last week, San Francisco officials on Tuesday sought to dispel perceptions that the city is soft on crime under the administration of a progressive, reform-minded district attorney. In the next life, I hope Ill get to be your daughter again. The family of the 84-year-old San Francisco man killed in a seemingly random attack believes it was a racist act. He was arrested along with Maylasia Goo, 20 . Sometimes Titus would walk into her bedroom to watch TV, see her turn away and ask, Mom, are you crying? Sometimes she walked into a room to see her own mother turn away, sniffling and cheering: Its OK! In the months since her father died, she and Eric had spent so much of their time at rallies, at court or on the phone with reporters and lawyers. Being found guilty of a hate crime would not extend such a sentence significantly, but the designation has always symbolized more to victims and their families: the difference between calling out prejudice and denying it. I met Monthanus one breezy afternoon in April at Wat Nagara Dhamma, a Buddhist temple outfitted inside a small two-story house across the street from Golden Gate Park.