Asian woman who beat white attacker in street turns down a million raised via GoFundMe

San Francisco grandmother who saw off suspect with stick will donate funds to charitable causes in fight against increase in anti-Asian hate

A 75-year-old Asian woman who raised almost a million on GoFundMe in the aftermath of an attack, wants to donate the money to charitable causes.

According to the family of Xiao Zhen Xie, more than $930,000 (£678,000) will go to the Asian-American community and charities fighting racism.

A week ago, the grandmother was the target of an aggravated assault in the Market Street area of San Francisco.

Although she was bruised by the incident, she was able to beat her white attacker, who afterwards required treatment for injuries, with a stick, according to CBS San Francisco.

John Chen, Ms Xie's grandson, opened a GoFundMe to raise funds in support of the 75-year-old, who had shown “bravery”, but was “severely affected mentally, physically, and emotionally” following the attack.

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On Tuesday, Mr Chen wrote on GoFundMe that with almost a million dollars worth of donations, Ms Xie wanted to fight racism with the funds, and that she was recovering from the ordeal.

“She said we must not submit to racism and we must fight to the death if necessary. She also stated multiple times to donate all the funds generated in this GoFundMe back to the Asian-American community to combat racism,” wrote Mr Chen.

“She insists on making this decision saying this issue is bigger than her. This is my grandma, grandpa, and our family’s decision,” Mr Chen added. “We hope everyone can understand our decision.”

The alleged attacker, 39-year-old Steven Jenkins, also beat an 83-year-old Asian man, Ngoc Pham, in the moments before the attack on Ms Xie last Wednesday, San Francisco police said.

An investigation is ongoing, with San Francisco police “working to determine if racial bias was a motivating factor in the incident.”

Mr Jenkins was charged with two counts of assault likely to produce great bodily injury, and two charges of elder abuse, according to police.

It follows a spate of crimes committed against Asian-Americans in the United States, including the fatal shooting of six women of Asian descent in Atlanta, Georgia, last week.