Police detain suspect after alleged assault on elderly Asian man

An elderly Asian man was assaulted in San Francisco and is being evaluated by paramedics at the scene Wednesday evening.

SFBay reporter Thomas K. Pendergast witnessed and captured the aftermath with cellphone footage.

According to his account, it appeared a 37-year-old white man with a slender build had assaulted the elderly man near 9th Avenue and Irving Street, knocking him down to the ground. The assault occurred shortly around 7 p.m.

Before firefighters and paramedics arrived, several people gathered to help the victim to a chair in front of The Beanery and Dumpling Park storefronts on 9th Avenue.

Police responded quickly and handcuffed the suspect, who identified himself to our reporter by name and age, though we are not releasing his name at this time.

An officer is heard saying in the video that “he is waking up” and that “he got hit pretty hard on the head.” The exact nature of the victim’s injuries are unknown.

Police were still investigating at the scene as of 7:43 p.m. and had not yet placed the suspect under arrest.

Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD Tip Line at (415) 575-4444 or text to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.