Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

FBI Determines Texas Teen Who Stabbed Asian American Family At Sam's Club, Including A 2-Year-Old, Committed A Hate Crime Fueled By Outbreak Panic

FBI Determines Texas Teen Who Stabbed Asian American Family At Sam's Club, Including A 2-Year-Old, Committed A Hate Crime Fueled By Outbreak Panic
Scott Olson/Getty Images

An assault last month in a Texas Sam's Club has been deemed a hate crime by authorities.

In a report obtained by ABC News, FBI investigators determined that the assailant attacked an Asian American family, including a two-year-old child, because of panic over the rapidly escalating viral pandemic.


The incident occurred on March 14 in the Texas city of Midland. Suspect Jose Gomez, a 19-year-old from the local area, stabbed three members of the family, including two children aged six and two years old. An employee of the store, Zach Owen, was also stabbed in the leg while trying to stop the assault.

The FBI report states that Gomez, by his own admission, targeted the family because of their race and perceived ethnicity.

"The suspect indicated that he stabbed the family because he thought the family was Chinese, and infecting people..."

The World Health Organization had declared the pandemic, which emerged in China late last year, just three days before the stabbing. And according to the FBI, Gomez's incident shouldn't be considered an isolated one.

Its report notes that the Bureau has already seen a surge in reports of hate crimes against Asian American all over the country, and expects it will continue as the virus continues to spread.

"The FBI assesses hate crime incidents against Asian Americans likely will surge across the United States, due to the spread of... disease … endangering Asian American communities..."
"The FBI makes this assessment based on the assumption that a portion of the US public will associate [the virus] with China and Asian American populations.

Indeed, many Asian Americans have reported incidents of racism and mistreatment.

Some Asian Americans linked the rise in mistreatment directly to use of the phrase "Chinese virus" by President Donald Trump and other government and political figures.

As a Chinese immigrant in New York City recently told Vox:

"A few days ago, he said the 'Chinese virus,' and a lot of bad things happened after that. I think it's awful. It's a global virus, not only the Chinese virus. I think he should make an apology."

And while the FBI made no mention of Trump or his rhetoric in its report, Jose Gomez's case seems to have brought the issue up for many.







As for the incident in Midland, all victims of the stabbing have been released from the hospital. Jose Gomez is currently held on multiple bonds totaling $1 million while the FBI and local authorities mounts their case.

The book The Hood: The History of Hate in America and How to Argue Against It is available here.

More from News

Donald Trump, Meania Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell
Davidoff Studios/Getty Images

Trump Mocked For Bizarre Denial After Wall St. Journal Reports On His Creepy Birthday Note To Epstein

President Donald Trump was swiftly mocked after he denied he ever "wrote a picture" after The Wall Street Journal reported on a happy birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein bearing Trump’s signature that included a drawing of a nude woman in sharpie pen.

The letter—reportedly sent by Trump at the request of Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who compiled the messages into a leather-bound book for Epstein's 50th birthday—dates back 16 years before Epstein was charged with child sex trafficking by the Justice Department in 2019, during Trump’s presidency.

Keep ReadingShow less
Person who removed their wedding ring
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

Divorced People Reveal What Really Ended Their Marriage Of Over A Decade

When it comes to long-term relationships and marriages, generally it seems like the longer the relationship lasts, the more of a "sure thing" it seems to be. If a couple has already been together this long, surely they can work through anything!

But there are some offenses that are far too big to overcome, and much less obvious to anyone on the outside looking in, the little things can hugely and hurtfully add up over the years.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of @_maycontain's TikTok video
@_maycontain/TikTok

TikToker Sparks Debate After Having Flight Attendant Make Life Or Death Nut Allergy Announcement On Flight

TikToker @_maycontain received mixed responses after having a flight attendant make an announcement about his severe nut allergy to his fellow airline passengers; the video has received more than 6 million views.

The video shows a moment between the TikToker—identified as content creator Dan Kelly—and an easyJet flight attendant as he explains his allergy and requests a nut-free announcement on a flight from Pisa to London Gatwick.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @mazie.kayee's TikTok video
@mazie.kayee/TikTok

TikToker Praises Target For Swiftly Pulling Toy That Killed Her Cat From Shelves After Hearing Her Story

Content Warning: Pet Loss

Pet parents and human parents everywhere will tell you that it only takes a moment for something to go horribly wrong, and it takes just one time of not noticing symptoms for something irreversible and tragic to occur.

Keep ReadingShow less