WASHINGTON — A man is facing assault and hate crime charges after police say he punched a stranger outside a D.C. convenience store on Saturday night.
According to an arrest report, Metropolitan Police Department officers were called to the 1700 block of 17th Street Northwest around 6:45 p.m. Once officers arrived, they were flagged down by the victim who pointed out the man he said attacked him.
The man told police he went into a nearby convenience store when he was approached by the other man, who asked him to buy him cigars. When the victim refused, the suspect, later as Warren Welcome, called him anti-Asian names and made references to Bruce Lee while threatening to fight him, according to the arrest report.
Inside the store, Welcome followed the victim around. When the victim exited the store, police say Welcome spat on him and punched him in the stomach.
When officers approached the suspect, he said he didn't do anything. But video footage from the store showed it all happen. Welcome was placed under arrest and charged with simple assault, hate/bias.
