An Asian undergraduate student at the University of Southern California said someone threw eggs at him and shouted racial slurs as he sat outside his campus residence and the suspect also is Asian, Los Angeles police said.
The incident occurred at about 2 a.m. Sunday outside Cardinal Gardens, Los Angeles Police Department Detective R. Saafir said.
The USC campus newspaper The Daily Trojan identified the victim as Ivan Tsang.
Tsang posted an account of the incident on Facebook:
“Although I was quite satisfied sitting quietly in front of the Cardinal Gardens fireplace enjoying my own company and the warmth of the fire, you had to add color to my night by not 1, not 2 but 3 eggs aimed clearly at me.”
The suspect shouted racial and homophobic epithets at him, Tsang said.
“Coming to the U.S. all the way from Hong Kong, I chose USC for the sole purpose of escaping the reality of racism, hoping to settle in a much more contemporary and diverse community,” Tsang said. “I guess I thought wrong.”
The LAPD and the USC Bias Assessment, Response and Support Committee were investigating the incident, authorities said.
Later in the day, the suspect sent a note of apology to Tsang on Facebook, Saafir said.
“The suspect reached out to the victim on Facebook and tried to apologize.” Saafir said. “He says he’s Asian too, that he had a little too much to drink.”
The suspect will be brought in for questioning by LAPD detectives, Saafir said. Despite the apology, “whenever there is a crime, there is a possibility of charges.”
USC Vice President for Student Affairs Ainsley Carry released a statement noting “We have a zero tolerance policy for any conduct that threatens or intimidates out students.”
—Staff and wire reports