CHARLOTTE -- An Asian-owned convenience store in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been trashed by a man who wielded a metal post and yelled racial slurs, according to police and a son of the store’s owners.
The Charlotte Observer reports that the incident occurred Tuesday.
Surveillance footage shows a man pulling a merchandise rack to the floor and swinging a street sign post into the glass on the refrigerators.
Mark Sung told the newspaper the man yelled, “Chinese (expletive). Go back to your country.”
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said a company that’s responsible for security at the transit center arrested Xavier Rashee Woody-Silas.
He was arrested on charges that include robbery with a dangerous weapon and communicating threats.
“It’s like the first thing they can think of when they look at us,” Sung said. “Usually, it’s the first thing that comes of their mouth.”
The incident occurred during a time when the number of attacks involving Asian Americans is rising.
A GoFundMe account, which has been established to help the family business, had raised more than $32,000 at last check Saturday.
