Feces smeared on doors of Asian-owned preschool in Alhambra sparks investigation

ALHAMBRA, Calif. (KABC) -- The Lunar New Year began on a disturbing note for people at the Asian-owned Little Sunshine Preschool in Alhambra.

Bo Ma, the owner of the school, told Eyewitness News an insulting message was scrawled in human feces on the front doors - the latest hate-filled attack against Asian Americans.

"We felt threatened and then we called the police," Ma says. He said the message written was: "mother we love your money."

A police report was filed. Still, nerves remain shaken.

RELATED: Increase in attacks on Asian-Americans seen as Chinese New Year approaches

The Bay Area has seen an increase in attacks on Asian-Americans and some worry that the approaching Chinese New Year could bring more violence.

Recently, a woman in Brentwood was subjected to vulgar and racist verbal abuse from a man in an encounter captured on video.

The incident shows the man accosting the Asian woman and hurling insults.

"Get the (expletive) outta here, you idiot," the man says, accosting the woman.

"No one's going to pay attention to you because you're dumb and you're a stupid, blue-Asian-haired girl," the man continued saying in the video.

Los Angeles police is aware of that video and confirms a hate incident report was taken Wednesday evening.

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Anti-Asian hate crimes are rising during the coronavirus pandemic. It is the latest chapter in the long history of U.S. racism against Asian Americans.

For many Americans and millions across Asia, Friday is supposed to be a day of celebration to usher in the Lunar New Year. In Sacramento, the Asian Pacific Islanders Legislative Caucus gathered not to commemorate the Lunar New Year, but to denounce the wave of violence aimed at Asian Americans.

The caucus connects the wave of violence to the onset of the pandemic and the belief that the coronavirus began in China.

Assemblymember David Chiu is preparing legislation to help track the violence.

The group Stop Asian American Pacific Islander Hate says from mid-March to the end of last year, they received more than 2,800 accounts of anti-Asian hate attacks and incidents from across the country. The group says L.A. County accounts for nearly 10% of the national reports.

The Bay Area has recently seen a series of attacks targeting Asian-Americans, particularly the elderly. In one case, a 70-year-old Bay Area grandmother was slammed to the ground and beaten. There have been similar attacks in other areas of the country.