South Bay Hate Crime Vandalism Targets Chinese Business: Police

SANTA CLARA, CA — South Bay authorities are investigating a hate crime vandalism that targeted a Chinese software company in Santa Clara.

According to a news release on Thursday, a male suspect vandalized the front door of the business with a racial epithet toward the Chinese community. The company has vacated the building, but its signage was still visible at the time of the crime, which police said occurred in the early morning hours of Mar. 14. The business was located in the 3000 block of Lakeside Drive.

This is the second time the business was targeted. According to police, in January, the same suspect “left an item inscribed with anti-Chinese epithets” at the front door. There was no crime committed in this case, but police put forth a “tremendous amount of effort” to locate the person responsible.

The suspect is described as possibly a white male wearing a black beanie, black hooded sweatshirt, black face mask, blue jeans and black shoes. Security footage showed the suspect vandalizing the property, authorities said.

The incident comes amidst a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes across the Bay Area and nationwide.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rise in hate crimes targeting Asians, including several documented attacks against Asian elders in the Bay Area in recent months. The Stop AAPI Hate organization has reported over 3,700 incidents of anti-Asian hate in the country since the pandemic began.

In Santa Clara County, the district attorney's office announced recently that it was prosecuting two separate hate crime incidents that occurred in the county.

Last week, all police chiefs in the county signed onto a statement condemning the violence and pledging to hold those responsible accountable.

On Tuesday, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a referral to implement a work plan that includes forming an Anti-Racism Community Outreach and Education Campaign.

Supervisor Susan Ellenberg said that the county should increase its investment in language outreach and improve upon infrastructure to allow people to report hate incidents, "so that we can understand the scope of the problem."

"It well could be much bigger than we know," Ellenberg said.

Anyone with information about the incident should contact Santa Clara Detective Sergeant Eric Lagergren at (408) 615-4823.