Boston transit police said Wednesday that they arrested a 16-year-old male in connection with an incident involving a group of youths racially harassing an Asian American passenger on the city’s subway last month.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Transit Police confirmed the arrest on Twitter, saying the teen could face charges of unarmed assault for the purposes of robbing and intimidation.
The victim, Vivian Dang, 25, took video of the attack that occurred on MBTA’s red line at about 10 p.m. Sept. 21. Her video went viral on TikTok, and a week later, she recounted to NBC News that a group of boys on the train cornered her and taunted her in a mock Chinese accent, saying “Can I get some dumplings?” and “Can I get some ramen with the egg?” and making other racist comments.
When the teens first boarded the car, she told NBC, they announced they were there to commit “a mass robbery” and tried to yank the shoes off a passenger. When Dang switched train cars, she said, they followed her.
“They were starting to say stuff like, ‘Don’t let her leave,’” Dang recalled. “That was when I was starting to get really scared.”
Dang followed up with NBC News following news of the arrest.
“It’s bittersweet. It was a kid. You don’t want to get them in trouble,” she said. “But again, their actions led to this.”
There has been a surge in anti-Asian hate crimes since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is believed to have originated in China. Former President Donald Trump used racially charged epithets to describe the disease, despite the rise in attacks, including “the China virus” and “kung flu.”
A report from Pew Research last year found that about one-third of Asian Americans say they’d changed their daily routines over the past year due to fear of threats or attacks.
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