Burglars are using digital surveillance to target Asian American homes
By Carl Samson
Burglars are reportedly using surveillance technology to target the homes of Asian American business owners in Shelton, Connecticut. Such a scheme mirrors a nationwide trend of suspects targeting the same demographic and tracking their whereabouts via sophisticated means.
- What authorities are saying: One incident in July saw cash, jewelry and purses stolen from the home of a local restaurant owner in the Huntington area. So far, investigation shows that the home was targeted, with perpetrators focusing on victims who run cash businesses. “If they find a business owner, they’ll start following this business owner and see what their daily routines are,” Tim Silva, Fusion Center manager for the Connecticut Intelligence Center, which analyzes and shares criminal information with other states, told WTNH. “They’re going so far as digital surveillance.” A 42-year-old man, identified as Jun Keng Zhang of New York, was arrested in connection with the Shelton case in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The stolen items were recovered.
- The big picture: Asian American business owners have increasingly been targets of burglaries in recent years. Two homes were also recently targeted in Abington, Pennsylvania. “Abington detectives have determined that both of these homes were specifically targeted because the residents are Asian American and own or operate a business in the area,” police said. “This is a particularly disturbing, and nation-wide crime trend where organized groups of thieves are targeting the homes of Asian American business owners due to the stereotype that Asian business owners have items of high value in their homes.”
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