Customer attacked massage therapist, hurled racial slurs after refusing to wear a mask
Albuquerque police are searching for a man who they say attacked a massage therapist and yelled racial slurs at her. The victim said a man walked into the massage parlor without a mask. When she asked him to put on a mask, she said he refused, so she refused to provide him with a massage. The woman said the man then began to call her the "Chinese virus" and used other racial slurs while attacking her.
“Her injuries were head to toe. She had injuries to her feet, her knees. She had muscle strains. She had abrasions everywhere. She also had an extreme amount of inflammation to her chest area and some bruising on her ribs making it difficult to breathe," explained Sgt. Gerard Bartlett, who is APD's Violence Intervention Unit.
"The initial charge was a misdemeanor count of aggravated battery, leaving painful temporary disfigurement," said Sgt. Bartlett. "However, with the new knowledge of these documented injuries and the knowledge of these racial slurs that were verbalized toward the individual to the attack, it's important we take into consideration the entire element of the investigation. And right now we're working with the DA's office to see if these charges rise to the level of a felony crime."
This is not the only incident APD is investigating that's impacting Asian businesses. APD is trying to reach out to the Asian American community to hopefully solve the crimes, but they know it's going to take time to build trust. According to statements police received, victim was at the emergency room when she was told by her translator that another employee at a massage parlor was also assaulted by a customer.
Police say the suspect is a man who was driving a white Ford with Florida plates CLW4172.
https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/police-customer-attacked-massage-therapist-hurled-racial-slurs-after-refusing-to-wear-a-mask/6091388/?cat=500
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