Man Yells Racist, Homophobic Slurs and Throws Eggs at Asian USC Student

LOS ANGELES, CA - An Asian student at the University of Southern California was reportedly the victim of a possible hate crime Monday at the hands of a suspect who is also Asian, according to authorities.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, an undergraduate student was sitting outside his campus housing when someone threw eggs at him and shouted racial slurs

Ivan Tsang, identified by the USC campus newspaper The Daily Trojan as the victim, wrote on his facebook page, "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."

According Tsang, the suspect also should racial slurs and homophobic epithets. "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 incident occurred at about 2 a.m. outside Cardinal Gardens, Los Angeles Police Department Detective R. Saafir said.

The LAPD and the USC Bias Assessment, Response and Support Committee were investigating the incident.

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."

City News Service