California man accused of repeatedly threatening to shoot Asian Americans

San Francisco police arrested a man on Tuesday after they said he went into a business multiple times and threatened to shoot Asian Americans.

Police said Darrell Hunter, 45, frequented a store on Golden Gate Ave. four times in one week and threatened to kill Chinese people, CBS San Francisco reported. Officers said that a 42-year-old Asian woman told them the man had come to the store three days in a row, but she didn’t notify the police until he made a threat.

Hunter fled the store before officers arrived, according to police.

Hunter was arrested on Tuesday morning after he returned to the store, police said, “on suspicion of making criminal threats, burglary, stalking, hate crime enhancements and probation violation,” according to SFGate. He was booked into county jail.

Police said the 42-year-old woman told them Hunter “used a hand gesture to mimic a gun” and simulated shooting customers in the store before he left, according to CBS San Francisco.

A surge in attacks on Asian Americans has been reported across the country during the pandemic.

From March 19, 2020, to February 28, there have been 3,800 reports of anti-Asian attacks or racism nationwide, with Asian women making up 68% of those targeted, according to Stop AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islanders) Hate.

The Bay Area has also seen an increase of violence against Asian Americans, SFGate reported.

A 75-year-old Asian man in Oakland died earlier this month after police said he was assaulted and robbed by a man with a history of “victimizing” older Asian Americans.