A MAN has been arrested after allegedly stabbing two Asian women in broad daylight in San Francisco.
The incident happened on Tuesday afternoon in the middle of the city's downtown area, at 4th and Market streets.
One of the women was badly bleeding, and the other still had a knife in her arm, sources told .
The women were reportedly taken to hospital, but there has been no immediate word on their condition.
Witnesses, speaking to , said that one woman appeared to be elderly and the other appeared to be in her 30s.
After stabbing the women, the suspect, a 54-year-old San Francisco man, reportedly walked away.
He arrest took place around 7 p.m. local time, .
Law enforcement added that, at this time, there is no evidence that the stabbings were a hate crime, but they are not ruling the possibility out.
Asian Americans have been the target of several unprovoked attacks in the San Francisco Bay Area in recent months.
DAYLIGHT ATTACK
Earlier this year, Stop Asian Hate protests grew across America, shedding light on incidents of abuse that Asian-Americans have suffered.
In March, a gunman in Atlanta, Georgia, shot and killed eight people, six of whom were Asian, across a series of massage parlors and spas.
New data recently revealed the number of anti-Asian hate incidents — which can include shunning, slurs and physical attacks — was greater than previously reported.
MSOT READ IN US NEWS
The research released by reporting forum Stop AAPI Hate and showed that were reported over the course of roughly a year during the pandemic.
In March, an 83-year-old Vietnamese man was knocked down in San Francisco and broke his neck in the fall, while a 77-year-old woman was attacked in a similar manner.
Police arrested a man for assault and elder abuse in both cases.