As a follow-up to the Abington Township Police Department’s announcement on Thursday, 6ABC spoke with Det. Lt. Steven Fink regarding a series of recent burglaries targeting the homes of Asian-American business owners.

On Tuesday, a Huntingdon Valley resident was assaulted with a lead pipe during a late-night robbery, Fink said.

“Criminals are targeting Asian American business owners. They’re going off the premise of this stereotype that they keep large amounts of cash in their homes,” Fink told 6ABC. “I can’t comment on the extent of their injuries but I can tell it was a rather serious assault. A group of criminals forced their way into this home, they hit them with a lead pipe. One of the residents was assaulted with a pipe.”

Designated a “top priority” by Abington police, detectives are trying to determine whether the incidents have involved the same criminals or more than one group acting independently.

“In one of the crimes, the lookout was actually posing as a jogger on the street where the burglary occurred. The suspicious thing was the jogger was wearing a surgical mask while he was jogging,” Fink said.

Susan Noh, president of the Korean American Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, sent 6ABC the following statement:

The recent robberies of Asian American business owners, where criminals have followed them to their homes across different townships and counties, are both alarming and painfully familiar. This pattern of crime has unfortunately surfaced before.

During the looting and unrest of the COVID-19 pandemic, similar tactics were used to target our community, resulting in many Asian American-owned businesses being destroyed.

It’s critical that law enforcement across all jurisdictions collaborate closely to address this issue. Business owners must be alerted to these dangers and educated on safety procedures to avoid being targeted. We also ask for answers and immediate action to prevent these crimes from continuing. The safety of our community cannot be compromised.

To ensure this issue receives the attention it demands, all humanitarian and related organizations must come together to raise awareness and amplify our voices. This collective effort is essential to properly address these crimes and bring those responsible to justice.

You can watch 6ABC’s video coverage below:

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Screengrab: 6ABC