CHICAGO — The FBI is investigating a possible hate crime last month at the Argyle Red Line station after a man was struck in the head from behind.
On Aug. 15 at around noon, police said the man was followed by a suspect into the Red Line Argyle station.
The man was then struck in the head from behind, causing him to fall. The FBI believes the suspect said the victim deserved the assault and used an ethnic slur against the man and his partner. Special agents said the man was assaulted because he is Asian American.
The FBI said that hate crimes against the Asian American community are on the rise and have increased since the pandemic started last year.
“There’s a lot of anger, there’s some people suggesting that perhaps the whole coronavirus epidemic the root cause is Asian Americans,” special agent Siobhan Johnson said. “We all know that is not the truth and people should not be taking their aggressions out on one group of people who had nothing to do with the situation at all.”
The suspect is described as a Black man with a thin goatee, a diamond stud earring in his right ear, a silver watch on his left arm, a metallic bracelet on his right arm, a gold chain around his neck and a White Sox cap.
Anyone with information can leave a tip at 312-421-6700 or by visiting tips.fbi.gov.
