Vancouver police are reporting an increase in anti-Asian, hate-motivated incidents in recent weeks. The department makes the announcement as it seeks public help to identify a man seen scrawling graffiti on several large windows at the Chinese Cultural Centre on April 2.
Const Tania Visintin says hate crimes of that nature will not be tolerated, adding it's "disheartening" to see such incidents occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A statement from police says the suspect walked into the courtyard of the cultural centre and wrote disturbing, racist remarks towards the Asian community on four large glass windows.
He is described as white, with a thin build, dressed in a black jacket, pants and baseball cap and wearing grey runners and a black and white bandana over his mouth and nose.
Police say of the 20 anti-Asian hate crimes reported to police this year, 11 occurred in April. In comparison, police say there were 12 anti-Asian hate-motivated crimes reported in all of 2019.
Visintin says investigators waited for almost a month to release the details about the graffiti to ensure all investigative steps had been taken. "We do take it very seriously and we have our steps that we have to follow to complete a thorough investigation and to really grab the suspect," she told a news conference Friday.
A camera has been set up in the area to monitor for any other hate-related incidents and Visintin said police foot patrols continue in the area. "We want the public to know that we are taking this seriously, investigating fully and we want this to stop," she said.