A Korean (or Korean-American) man in his 50s was attacked and injured during the day in LA Koreatown.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the incident took place around 1:30 p.m. on April 11 in a parking lot across from the Kang Nam Restaurant at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and South Bronson Avenue.
“Two officers responded to a report of an ‘unknown trouble,’ and it was confirmed that there was a battery at the scene,” LAPD Officer Tony Im stated.
CCTV footage from the area, which was obtained by the Korea Daily, shows two men approaching another man and punching him in the face.
An exchange of punches ensued, and the victim, who was punched repeatedly, fell to the ground.
One of the suspects then kicked the man repeatedly in the face, while the other grabbed him by the hair and punched him again in the face.
“The victim’s wife, who was present at the scene, collapsed in shock and was hospitalized,” an acquaintance of the victim who asked for anonymity disclosed. “The suspects, all Korean men, had beaten the victim in the parking lot after he had finished eating at the restaurant.”
“I understand that the suspects were ordered by a former business partner who had a conflict with the victim,” a tipster reported, adding, “The suspects had a car waiting in the parking lot to kidnap the victim, but one of them fled when the police arrived.”
One of the suspects, a Korean man in his 40s, was arrested near the scene later that day, according to police. He is suspected of robbery, police said.
The victim was reportedly treated at a hospital for severe bruises to his face and body sustained in the incident.
“A technician who came to repair the restaurant’s ice machine saw it and called the police,” Anne Lee, an official at Kang Nam Restaurant, recounted. “There was a disturbance outside, and when I went outside, I saw a group of men fighting, and one of them was a customer who had eaten at the restaurant.”
At present, details such as the motive for the crime or the relationship between the victim and the suspects are unknown, and police are investigating the incident.
BY SUAH JANG, KYEONGJUN KIM, JUNHAN PARK
[jang.suah@koreadaily.com, kim.kyeongjun1@koreadaily.com]
