<p>CHARLOTTE — An Asian-owned convenience store in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been trashed by a man who wielded a metal post and yelled racial slurs, according to police and a son of the store’s owners. </p>
<p>The Charlotte Observer <a href="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article250389431.html">reports</a> that the incident occurred Tuesday at a business named Plaza Sundries, which is near the Charlotte Transit Center. </p>
<p>Surveillance footage shows a man pulling a merchandise rack to the floor and swinging a street sign post into the glass on the refrigerators. </p>
<p>Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said a company that’s responsible for security at the transit center arrested Xavier Rashee Woody-Silas. He was arrested for robbery with a dangerous weapon, communicating threats, disorderly conduct, injury to personal property and resisting a public officer, according to public records. It’s unclear if he’s hired an attorney. </p>
<p>Mark Sung, whose parents own the shop, said it was hardly the first time such an incident occurred. Sung said his Korean-American family hears insults every day that include statements such as, “Go back to your country." </p>
<p>The incident occurred during a time when the number of attacks involving Asian Americans is rising. For instance, a woman of Asian descent was attacked on the streets of New York City last week. Eight people were shot and killed in Atlanta last month. Six of them were Asian-American women working in massage parlors.</p>
<p>Hate crimes nationally against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have increased 150% during the pandemic, according to a study by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. </p>
