A Thursday egg-throwing attack on the 38-Geary was caught on video, with some hate speech reportedly in the mix, and it turns out this suspect may have a checkered past of targeting Asian women in food-throwing attacks.
Given SF Muni’s decades-long and well-established pattern of leaving its riders disappointed, it’s a real compliment that New York-based author and transit enthusiast Michelle Young was described as an “avid transit rider” who was “excited to ride the Muni bus in San Francisco” during a visit last week. But our fair city’s transit experience was a disturbing and violent one for Young, as NBC Bay Area reports that another Muni passenger threw eggs at her, while allegedly hurling anti-Asian slurs.
San Francisco @BART just now. Guy w/lots of eggs came on and starting yelling to me and the Asian girl next to me “stupid Chinese bitch”. A man on the bus stepped in & the guy started throwing eggs at him. Guy got off bus threw eggs through window. We all have egg in our hair!! pic.twitter.com/C5p6shu9hZ
— Michelle Young (@UntappedMich) February 16, 2023
Young posted video of the incident seen above, which per NBC Bay Area, took place last Thursday morning (February 16) on the 38-Geary at Geary Boulevard and Divisadero Street. The suspect in the striped hoodie, carrying a double pack of eggs, clearly throws an f-bomb and taunts another passenger “You want me to throw an egg at you, bro?,” and then throws that egg at the passenger before storming off the bus. He hurls a few more eggs at the bus after exiting.
“At the price of eggs!” someone on the bus joked after. pic.twitter.com/CVjISc3hDZ
— Michelle Young (@UntappedMich) February 16, 2023
And yes, just to get it out of the way, people did make jokes about the price of eggs.
Cropped second video to show him throwing an egg right at me pic.twitter.com/0P0GYYxAcx
— Michelle Young (@UntappedMich) February 16, 2023
But it is no laughing matter that Young tells NBC Bay Area that prior to her recording the video, the suspect “said a racial epithet and it was 'stupid Chinese b----' and he said that at least twice." Other eggs were reportedly thrown, and Young added that “All the women around me, had egg all over their hair, there was egg shells everywhere."
A man is caught on video hurling eggs and racial slurs at passengers on a San Francisco bus. https://t.co/Iicv0jz3UG
— KRON4 News (@kron4news) February 20, 2023
Additionally, KRON4 spoke to another woman who said the same man attacked her throwing food in a separate December incident. “He started yelling racist slurs against Asian people, especially Chinese,” Wendy Zhang told KRON4.
(🧵) We are committed to doing everything we can to stop the racist attacks on the AAPI community that have been on the increase over the past few years. Just this week alone, Muni riders, staff and colleagues from other transit agencies been victims of this deplorable behavior.
— SFMTA (@SFMTA_Muni) February 17, 2023
Reports have been filed with both SFPD and SFMTA. For their part, SFMTA says in a statement that "We are committed to doing everything we can to stop the racist attacks on the AAPI community that have been on the increase over the past few years."
If you have any information on this incident, you’re asked to call the SFPD Tip Line at (415) 575-4444, or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.” Tipsters can remain anonymous.
Related: SFPD Arrests 17-Year-Old In Connection With Kicking Elderly Woman on Muni Bus [SFist]
Screenshot via @UntappedMich via Twitter