The Irvine Police Department are seeking a suspect wanted for assaulting an elderly man who was walking his dog at Sierra Vista Middle School. The incident occurred on Friday, March 19 according to the IPD.

Surveillance footage show the suspect wanted for a potential hate crime in Irvine.

In a statement on issued on Monday, March 22, the IPD indicated that surveillance video from Sierra Vista Middle School caught the attack on film, which allowed law enforcement to release a description of the suspect.

“Detectives have also recovered surveillance video from the area. The suspect is described as a male in his late teens with a darker complexion. He was last seen wearing a dark T-shirt over a white long sleeve shirt, dark shorts over white leggings or shin guards, black athletic shoes, and caring a white backpack. The suspect may also be associated with a white sedan or coop style vehicle,” the statement read.

In the video, a large black and white dog can be seen circling a man with another smaller dog. At one point the larger dog appears to get very close to the man, while another male is kicking a soccer ball near by. After a moment, the person kicking the soccer ball seems to be standing over the man with the smaller dog. The same person can be seen walking away, guiding the larger dog away by the scruff of the neck. It is unclear if the larger dog was wearing a collar.

On Saturday, March 20, Twitter user @Sarahangyen, who identified herself as the daughter of the Irvine hate crime victim, explained that her father was walking her dog, when the attack occurred.

In a now-deleted tweet, Nguyen expressed disbelief and sadness about the attack.

“I’m speechless. Yesterday a man assaulted my 70yo dad as he was picking up my 16lb dog to protect him from a husky. A man came from behind and kicked his head and shoulder, then stepped on his hand and kept bleeding. He had to go to the ER. #StopAAPIHate #StopAsianHateCrimes,” the Tweet read.

In a statement Monday, the Irvine Police Department gave a full detailed description of the attack:

“The Irvine Police Department is seeking assistance from the public to identify the suspect who assaulted an elderly male.

On Friday, March 19 at 7:00 p.m. a 69-year-old male was walking his dog at Sierra Vista middle school in the city of Irvine. The victim observed a large black and white dog described as a husky breed, which was off leash and appeared to be connected to a young male that was jogging and kicking a soccer ball in the area. The larger dog approach the victim aggressively and the victim picked up his own dog to avoid conflict.

Minutes later, the larger dog approached again and the victim lost control of the dog’s leash. The two dogs begin fighting and the victim rush to separate them. While attempting to defend his dog, the victim was struck in the head from behind by the male who that was seen jogging. The suspect left the area with the dog and the victim was ultimately taken to the hospital for treatment. IPD was notified that day and investigation commenced.”

The attack, which occurred on Friday, March 19, occurred just hours after the city of Irvine held a Stop Asian Hate rally. During the rally, the Irvine Police Department announced the launch of a new, submission-based hate crime and hate incident tool.

“Today I’m pleased to announce the launch of an online hate crime, hate incident, reporting portal. The portal is now live,” IPD Police Chief Mike Hamel explained. “I would like to emphasize that the online portal is not designed to replace the response of the professional police officer when needed or requested.”

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