Carl Chan, the president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, says he was hit in the head from behind while he was running his errands on Thursday afternoon, SFGate reports. Chan was found by police barely conscious on a Chinatown sidewalk, but he was able to take pictures of his attacker before he passed out, he says. KTVU reports that the suspect has been arrested and charged with felony battery charges. The suspect’s name or motive hasn’t been released and it remains unclear if it was a hate crime but Chan said the suspect yelled derogatory things to him. Chan had been outspoken on the rise in anti-Asian violence before Thursday. He told the San Francisco Chronicle that he fears his prominence in the community may have led him to be targeted.
