The GoFundMe page for Asian hate crime victims in New York raises more than $ 172,000 in donations

Vilma Kari’s daughter, Elizabeth, told CNN she set up the site to raise funds for her mother’s recovery and to support the Asian-American and Pacific Islander Community (AAPI).

Elizabeth Kari, in her GoFundMe post, described the horror she felt when she learned that her mother was the latest victim in a series of attacks against Asian Americans.

“It goes without saying that we have all seen the news and attacks on Asian Americans, particularly the elderly across the country, since last year and thought that this might be our parents or loved ones,” wrote Elizabeth Kari.

“When I got the call last Monday, March 29th, I couldn’t believe it when they told me the last attack happened to my own mother.”

Brandon Elliot – a homeless man on parole for the murder of his mother – was arrested in connection with the attack. He was charged with two second-degree attacks as a hate crime and one first-degree attack as a hate crime, prosecutors said. Elliot approached the woman and yelled, “F ** k you, you don’t.” Belong here, you Asian “, before you knock her down and hit her several times, according to the criminal complaint.

“The security video that went viral was the hardest to watch other than the crime itself,” wrote Elizabeth Kari on the GoFundMe page.

She thanked a bystander who said, “saw my mother being attacked, screaming and screaming to get the attacker’s attention.”

The funds will be used for the victim’s recovery, said Elizabeth Kari.

“My mother wants to help other victims and organizations continue to raise awareness in our AAPI community (so that we can continue on a path that educates everyone around us and puts an end to these attacks),” she added.

Officials in New York condemned the attack earlier this week.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio described the attack as “disgusting” and “outrageous”. He said Asian American New Yorkers feel isolated and fearful and “need to know that they have solidarity with all New Yorkers”.

“If you see someone being attacked, do whatever you can – make some noise, call what happens, go and try to help, call for help right away, call 911. I mean, this is something we all have to be part of the solution to. We can’t just step back and watch some heinous act, ”he added.

At least 10 suspected anti-Asian hate crimes were committed in New York between January 1 and March 14 this year, according to statistics from the New York Police Department’s Hate Crime Task Force.

The information underscores the recent spate of anti-Asian incidents in cities across the country, coinciding with the Covid-19 pandemic that began last year.

In 2020, 29 racially motivated crimes against people of Asian origin were reported in New York, 24 of which were attributed to “coronavirus motivation,” according to NYPD data. The racially motivated crimes against people of Asian origin totaled three in 2019.