Seattle police investigating whether robbery part of trend targeting Asian community
A Seattle man was tased and robbed outside a house over the weekend when two masked suspects approached him from behind with what appeared to be guns, home surveillance video shows.
The robbery happened around 4:40 p.m. Saturday in the Beacon Hill neighborhood.
The victim, who appears to be of Asian descent, rings the doorbell of the home when two masked individuals run up to him from behind and demand his belongings, according to the video.
"Take that wallet out right now. Everything you got," one of the masked suspects says while pointing what appears to be a handgun at the victim.
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Two masked suspects approached the victim from behind as he rang the doorbell of a home in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood around 4:40 p.m. Saturday. (Ha Tran Minh Le)
The man appears confused and doesn’t immediately comply with their demands. Police said there was a language barrier between the suspects and victim.
The second masked suspect immediately fires a taser at the victim, and the resulting shock makes the victim collapse to the ground.
The second suspect tases the victim, who then falls to the ground. (Ha Tran Minh Le)
As the two suspects rifle through the victim’s pockets and struggle to remove the rings from his fingers, one suspect turns away the home surveillance camera that is pointed in their direction.
After tasing the victim, the two suspects begin to rob him of his belongings. (Ha Tran Minh Le)
The suspects then flee the porch. The victim is heard breathing heavily before he gets up on his own and walks down the path away from the home.
After the robbery, the victim is able to stand on his own and walk away from the scene. (Ha Tran Minh Le)
Seattle Police told Fox News Digital that the investigation is ongoing.
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During the robbery, the suspects continued to deploy shocks from the taser to keep the victim subdued longer, FOX13 Seattle reported, citing police. The suspects stole the man’s wallet, gold necklace, car keys and his iPhone.
Following the release of the disturbing video, police said they are investigating a trend of masked teenagers targeting community members of Asian descent in the Rainier Beach, Rainier View and Beacon Hill neighborhoods, the outlet reported.
"It’s a group of three to seven Black males in their teens," Seattle Police Officer Judinna Gulpan told the station. "They are armed and they are targeting elderly Asians within our communities within the south precinct."
It was unclear whether the suspected group was responsible for the recent robbery.
