(John Chen/GoFundMe)
By Sri Ravipati
(SAN FRANCISCO) The family of Xiao Zhen Xie, the 75-year-old Asian woman who went viral after she thwarted her attacker on San Francisco’s Market St. last month, will set up a non-profit to manage more than $1 million in donations raised for her.
News Break reported on March 17, Xie was waiting at a traffic light at Market Street at approximately 10:30 a.m. when a 39-year-old man punched her in the head. She was armed with a stick and struck the man, sending him to the hospital. He was later arrested by San Franciso police.
The attacker also assaulted 83-year-old Ngoc Pham at Market and Seventh streets, shortly before assaulting Xie. Police have not confirmed these incidents were hate crimes at this time, but "investigators are working to determine if racial bias was a motivating factor," according to the arrest announcement.
In the aftermath, many people connected Xie's assault to attacks against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders happening across the Bay Area and nationally since the start of the pandemic.
Xie's story went viral on GoFundMe. Her family initially set up the fundraising page with a $50,000 goal to cover medical expenses, but it has garnered more than $1 million in donations to date.
On March 22, Xie's family updated the GoFundMe page, announcing all of the funds would go toward combatting racism against the AAPI community.
KPIX 5 reported Xie is overwhelmed by the community’s response. She will not need surgery for her injured eye and all around, she is feeling better.
No further details on the nonprofit are available at this time.