ARLINGTON, Va. -- Police in Virginia are seeking to arrest a man who reportedly left a restaurant without paying and then used racial slurs and assaulted one of the two Asian American workers who confronted him.
Arlington County Police said Saturday that the incident took place just before 5:50 p.m. Tuesday when officers were called to the 500 block of 23rd Street S. for the report of an assault.
"The suspect left a restaurant without paying his bill," police said. "Two employees approached the suspect outside the establishment and requested he return to pay. The suspect continued walking away and when one employee began recording him, he pushed the other employee to the ground and ran off towards Richmond Highway."
The assaulted worker did not require medical treatment.
Police described the suspect as a white male in his late 20s to early 30s about 5 feet 9 to 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing between 150 to 160 pounds.
He had dark brown hair, a light brown beard and was wearing square-rimmed glasses, headphones, a black t-shirt, gray and black sweatpants and black sneakers, according to police.
The incident comes amid a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders that has prompted congressional action.
Police in Arlington, a suburb of the nation's capital, said the incident has been reported to Virginia State Police as a possible hate crime.
