'Enough is enough': Community leaders call for immediate action to end anti-Asian attacks

OAKLAND, Calif. - Two elderly Asian people were hospitalized Wednesday morning after being attacked in San Francisco.

With the help of a security guard, police arrested the suspect in the assault on the 75-year-old woman and 83-year-old man near U.N. Plaza. Authorities are still investigating whether the incident was racially motivated.

Across the Bay in Oakland's Chinatown, a security camera captured images of an assault on a 77-year-old Asian man on Seventh Street, not far from police department headquarters.

The victim is still recovering. Authorities said no arrests have been made in the case.

Violent attacks against Asian Americans have left the community fearful.

"The mood is quite sad. People ask if it's anger. It's not anger. It's really sad," said Carl Chan, president of the Oakland Chamber of Commerce.

The latest incidents follow high-profile attacks in Oakland and San Francisco in which two elderly Asian men were killed. Authorities have not filed hate crime charges in either case.

The wave of attacks have changed how people live their lives.

"I don't want to use my cell phone when I'm walking on the street. That's for sure. At this time, I am very concerned and worried," Chan said.

And that worry began even before the Atlanta mass killings of Asian women.

"This must be an inflection point. Enough is enough. Thoughts and prayers are not enough," said Assemblyman David Chiu of San Francisco.

SEE ALSO: Asian and Black communities aim to work together after high-profile attacks

Chiu and other leaders in the Asian and Pacific Islander communities are calling on California Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint an Asian as the new state attorney general. That's assuming current attorney general Xavier Becerra becomes Secretary of Health and Human Services in Washington.

"We need an attorney general who will take decisive action, deploy real resources to stem this tide. We have to build bridges of trust between our API communities and law enforcement," Chui said. 

"No matter Black, white, Hispanic, whatever race you are, we all need to organize to protect all of us," said Chan. 

Assemblymember Chiu is also calling for a 24-hour hotline where Asian Americans can report incidents of hate.