Hate crime arrest made after elderly man is beaten and robbed of recyclables

San Francisco police have arrested a 20-year-old man they say recorded a viral video of an elderly man collecting recyclables being taunted, attacked and robbed.

Dwayne Grayson was booked Thursday on suspicion of robbery, elder abuse, a probation violation for a prior robbery conviction and a hate crime enhancement, according to the San Francisco Police Department. He is being held without bond, custody records show.

The incident occurred about 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the Bayview neighborhood. A video, which went viral after being posted to social media, shows a man striking the victim, identified as a 68-year-old Asian man, in the head with a metal pole.

Authorities did not sspecify what role Grayson played, but they say he recorded the encounter and posted it to social media.

On the profanity-laced video, at least one person can be heard taunting the victim, yelling at him to “go get your ... cans.” A person who is not seen in the video later says, “I hate Asians,” and mimics the crying man.

The victim complained of pain but had no visible injuries, police said.

“We’ve determined that he was involved in the incident, and he was arrested for his involvement,” Officer Robert Rueca, a San Francisco police spokesman, said of Grayson.

Investigators have identified another suspect and are searching for him, police said. Rueca said he could not provide additional information about the outstanding suspect.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call San Francisco police at (415) 575-4444.

Times staff writer Hannah Fry contributed to this report.