KEY POINTS

  • San Francisco police arrested Dwayne Grayson, 20, for his alleged role in the assault of an elderly Asian man
  • The incident was recorded as the elderly man passed through San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood, where he was greeted by harassment from residents
  • A second suspect has reportedly been identified and police said they expect the person to be in custody soon

San Francisco police on Friday held a man who allegedly attacked of a man collecting recyclables. The attack was recorded and went viral.

Dwayne Grayson, 20, was arrested Thursday for attacking a 68-year-old Asian man collecting recyclables on Saturday. He is being charged with robbery, elder abuse, a hate crime and violating probation for a previous robbery conviction. Grayson was held at the Bayview Police Station without bail.

Police said they had “identified the other suspect in the incident and [are] actively searching for him.”

The incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. at a housing block in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood. The man was collecting cans and other recyclables when a crowd began harassing him. One man began recording on his phone as he yelled at the victim.

Another man, police identified as Grayson, is seen swinging an object at the elderly man to make him flee. He also prevents the elderly man from retrieving his cart of recyclables while the crowd continued to yell racial slurs.

The elderly man reportedly was hit on the head once, but police said he suffered no visible injuries.

The video was posted online shortly after the incident and was met with immediate backlash.

“We don’t tolerate this type of behavior in our city,” San Francisco Police Chief William Scott told a press conference Thursday. “We shouldn’t, we don’t, and we won’t.”

San Francisco Mayor London Breed echoed Scott’s statements at a community gathering Thursday.

“I would never want anyone to treat my grandmother the way that I saw an elderly person treated here,” Breed said. “We are better than that.”

Scott credited help from the public in identifying the alleged suspects, but said the investigation is still ongoing.

police
This image shows police officers after a shooting at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle on June 5, 2014. Mat Hayward/Getty Images