A California woman accused of assaulting one Asian woman and hurling racist slurs against other Asian victims has been located in San Pedro.
Police found the woman, identified as 54-year-old Lena Hernandez, at a San Pedro park on Wednesday. Authorities interviewed her, but because her crimes at this point are considered a misdemeanor and didn’t happen in the presence of law enforcement, she was not arrested, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The alleged racist attacks happened at least three times, according to Torrance Police Chief Eve Berg.
“We believe that that suspect is responsible for all three of these incidents,” Berg said.
Authorities said it’s up to the Torrance City prosecutor’s office whether Hernandez will face charged. As of Thursday morning, no charges have yet been filed.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, one incident happened Wednesday on a set of stairs at Charles H. Wilson Park in Torrance. An older woman apparently unleashed a string of profane comments after walking up the stairs, then back down the stairs, prompting the jogger to stop her workout.
“Jesus,” the jogger said after the woman made her way down the steps.
The comment apparently set the older woman off, according to the victim, who was already recording her workout routine when the woman started screaming at her.
“Go back to whatever f****** Asian country you belong in. This is not your place. This is not your home. We do not want you here.”
“You little f***** b****. This is not your place, this is not your home. We do not want you here. Put that on Facebook. I hope you do. Because every f******* person will beat the crap out of you from here on out. Don’t you ever say oh Jesus to me when I want to use the stairs you little b****.”
After the incident aired on local news, an Asian man contacted KTLA 5 and said that during the same day, the same woman confronted him and his 11-year-old son. Again, she allegedly spewed racism and threatened to have the man and his child hurt, and referred to him as a “China man” while attempting her own version of an Asian accent.
“You’re going to get f****. Your kids are going to get f*****,” she said in an unedited version of a video that the man recorded. “You are nothing.”
Our friend and attorney just sent us this video of a very racist and extremely disturbed old lady going off on him while his kids are in the car…. pic.twitter.com/DvkE7oKL5s
— brendon mcnerney (@brendonmcnerney) June 11, 2020
Another female victim came forward after she noticed the suspect on the news and said she, too, was verbally assaulted by the woman. This time, however, the suspect allegedly launched a physical assault.
Kayceelyn Salminoa told KTLA that the suspect physically attacked her in a public bathroom last October. Salminoa said she filed a report with Torrance PD but nothing ever came of it.
Salminoa intervened when she saw a spat between the suspect and a custodian. The suspect is accused of throwing Salminoa to the ground, then attacking her when she tried to get up.
“I did get up and that’s when she physically grabs my hair and pushed me down and starts punching the back of my head,” Salminoa said.
“I really hope there are no other victims. But if there are, I hope they come forward and let us know,” Torrance Mayor Patrick Furey told reporters earlier this month.
Anyone who has been victim to Hernandez is urged to contact the Torrance Police Department investigators at 310-328-3456 or 310-618-5570.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Screenshot/Twitter]
