A man was arrested for suspicion of a hate crime after he was seen going after a 16-year-old with a metal pipe in front of Irvine High School and allegedly attacked his brother, police said Wednesday.
"The victims are completely innocent in this case," Farrah Emami, Irvine Police Department, said. "They didn't do anything. The apparent reason for this attack is because they are black."
The 24-year-old accused attacker was identified by police as Christopher Qu of Irvine. Police said he had just been released from jail the week before.
The incident began just before 1 p.m. when the 16-year-old, a black student, was waiting for his brother to pick him up in front of Irvine High School.
The student was on campus for sports, despite school not being in session for spring break.
Qu, identified by police as an Asian man, was seen approaching the 16-year-old while holding a metal pipe. The teen said he didn’t know Qu.
The teen then said that Qu began using racial slurs, and acting aggressively toward the boy.
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The teen’s older brother had arrived to pick him up, and got out of the car to stop Qu.
Police said Qu head-butted the teen’s brother, and beat him with the pipe on his arm.
The teen wasn’t hurt, but his brother suffered cuts to his face and arms.
They called 911 as Qu ran from the area. He was taken into custody nearby.
Police found a bloody pipe in the school’s parking lot.
Qu was arrested on suspicion of hate crime, felony assault and assault with a deadly weapon charges, according to Irvine police.
