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Two older Asian women were stabbed on Tuesday while waiting for a bus in downtown San Francisco, authorities said. The attack occurred amid a spate of anti-Asian violence in the country since the start of the pandemic.

The women, age 84 and 63, both remain in the hospital and are receiving treatment for multiple stab wounds, the San Francisco Police Department 

Learn more about the surge in violence

For Asian Americans facing racism

Police arrested 54-year-old Patrick Thompson at around 7 p.m., two hours after he allegedly stabbed the two women. Police say he faces two counts of attempted murder and two counts of elder abuse.

Investigators have not yet ruled the attack a hate crime, but say they are looking into whether the suspect was motivated by racial bias.

 that she'd been working at a flower stand near the bus platform when she witnessed the incident. "It was a pretty big knife, it had knuckles on the handle and the blade had holes in there like a military knife," she said.

The attack follows a recent surge in hate crimes against Asian Americans in 

during the coronavirus pandemic. From March 2020 through this past February, Stop AAPI Hate — a nonprofit that tracks abuse against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders — documented close to 

. The total number of anti-Asian crimes might be much higher.

Stopping anti-Asian American hate in Minnesota

In New York City, a police hate crime task force is investigating a Sunday attack on two Asian women in Midtown Manhattan. 

Police said another woman accosted the pair

, demanded they remove their masks and struck one of the women in the head with a hammer.

 of a man who's been charged with hate crimes and attempted murder in connection with a brutal 

that left a 61-year-old Asian man in critical condition. Surveillance video released by police showed the suspect push the victim to the ground before kicking him in the head several times.

Many activists blame the uptick in anti-Asian violence on xenophobic rhetoric and the 

 by former President Donald Trump and others to describe the coronavirus.

San Francisco Supervisor Matt Haney, who represents the district where the latest attack took place, 

 for the 85-year-old victim said to be set up by her grandchildren.

Victoria Eng updated the page on Wednesday to say that her grandmother is recovering well after surgery.

"These Asian hate crimes need to stop," she wrote. "San Francisco is my home and my Grandma's home. We need to feel safe where we live and not in constant fear." 

Crime, Law and Justice

Social Issues

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Emma Bowman

Author

The two women, age 84 and 63, were attacked while waiting at a bus stop on Tuesday, police said. It's the latest in a string of nationwide violence against Asian Americans during the pandemic.

Man arrested in San Francisco stabbing of 2 Asian women

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