SAN FRANCISCO—A man arrested after he allegedly stabbed a 94-year-old Asian American woman in San Francisco in an unprovoked attack has been charged with attempted murder, the city’s top prosecutor announced Friday.
Daniel Cauich, 35, was also charged with battery causing serious bodily injury and elder abuse, San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin said.
Cauich’s arraignment was scheduled for Friday. It wasn’t immediately known if has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
Ahn “Peng” Taylor was on her daily walk near her downtown apartment Wednesday when Cauich allegedly hit her in the head and stabbed her on the forearm, hip, and torso. He then continued walking and threw away the knife, Boudin said.
Police officers who responded to a report of a stabbing found a knife near the crime scene and obtained a photo of Cauich and circulated it to all officers. Police arrested him two hours after the attack.
Taylor was taken to a local hospital, where she is recovering, Boudin said.
The attack comes amid a wave of assaults against Asian Americans in San Francisco and across the country since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the United States.
“We are devastated by this recent, horrific attack. We stand with the AAPI community and the vulnerable elderly community which, around the nation, have faced too many tragic incidents like this one over the past year,” Boudin said in a statement.
Earlier this year, Cauich was convicted of three separate felony burglary charges and sentenced to jail time and probation, along with other conditions. He was again arrested in May for burglary, and prosecutors filed new felony charges and sought his detention, Boudin said.
“The District Attorney’s request to detain Mr. Cauich was denied by the court and he was released on an ankle monitor,” he said.
