Racism not ruled out as motive in unprovoked tripping of Burnaby senior

Police in Metro Vancouver are searching for a woman who casually approached a senior who was using a walker, tripped her from behind and walked away.

Burnaby RCMP have released video of the April 3 assault that was caught on surveillance cameras mounted at the Metrotown SkyTrain station.

Police say the 84-year-old victim, who is of Asian descent, was shaken but not seriously hurt.

The suspect is described as a woman, possibly Asian, wearing a face mask, a long, dark puffy jacket, dark tights, light shoes and carrying a large, beige purse.

Investigators say there is no immediate indication the case is a hate crime but, based on police reports of an increasing number of anti-Asian crimes in neighbouring Vancouver, they are not ruling out that motive.

A statement says RCMP policies do not permit collection of race or ethnicity data, but it adds that Burnaby Mounties are aware of recent ``concerning incidents'' targeting members of the city's Asian community.