WASHINGTON — Two Asian women from Northern Virginia say a stranger not only racially harassed them but threatened to hurt them during a recent Metro ride.
Erica Kim and Sharon Bryant were on board a Red Line Metro around 1 p.m. on Thursday during a lunch break. When they reached the Farragut North stop, a man allegedly came up to them and yelled racially insensitive comments.
“He was asking, ‘Are you Chinse or Japanese?’” said Kim. “He was throwing ‘Ni hao’ and ‘ching chong’ to us. I yelled at him to stay away and that I was going to call the cops.”
Bryant said despite telling him off and moving seats, this man followed them.
“He was like, ‘Where are you guys going? I’m going to push you guys on the tracks,’” recalled Bryant. “He threatened to throw us to get people’s attention.”
However, both of the women say witnesses stepped in between to try to diffuse the situation. Despite those attempts, the man followed them once they got off the Metro Center station.
“Luckily, these two women helped lead us out, but he continued to follow us up the escalator,” said Kim. “It was like a flight or fight situation, so we immediately flee the scene. That's when we ran up the escalators and ducked into a Macy's.”
The Metro Transit Police Department is unable to provide specific details, but a spokesperson says the investigation is active.
Kim said as Asian Americans, she has heard of many similar incidents in the past but admitted it was shocking to experience.
“That was disheartening that that was our reality and the fact we had our life threatened at 1 pm on a Thursday, is really scary,” she said.
Safety has been a big concern as more people take the Metro. The number of crimes has gone up across the entire system compared to 2022, according to Metro monthly reports.
There have been 67 robberies and 64 larcenies in 2023 so far. Compared to the same time frame last year, there were 31 robberies and 20 larcenies.
Metro officials say they are working to hard to keep customers safe, especially following an employee shot and killed in February.
DC Police have partnered with MTP to increase patrols in busy areas. There will be more cameras throughout the system and there are plans to implement gates to cut down on fare evasions.
Police have also started deploying body cameras.