The victim of Tuesday night’s chemical attack near Ala Moana Center is a 25-year-old Chinese national who is a visiting Chinese language teacher at Maryknoll School.
The attack left the woman in critical condition, and she fell unconscious shortly after paramedics arrived.
Vernon Ching, head of the Hawaii chapter of the U.S. China Peoples Friendship Association, said he understands that the young woman regained consciousness Thursday.
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Since his organization does a lot with teachers and students from China, he met the woman when she arrived in 2022 from Shandong in Beijing.
“I was shocked when I found out that a Maryknoll teacher got assaulted,” and discovered it was one of the teachers he had met, he said.
Ching said her parents are farmers from Shandong, which is near Beijing.
“With her education in Beijing, her persona is more westernized,” he said. “She’s very intelligent, very personable, and she’s easy to get to know.”
He added, “She is such a helpful, always smiling person. For this type of personality, why would somebody want to do this unless it’s a random thing? … She’s such a beautiful person, all smiling.”
Maryknoll School officials declined to be interviewed while the police investigation is ongoing, but shared the following statement:
“We were devastated to learn that one of our visiting Chinese language teachers was the victim of this senseless off-campus attack.
“A valued member of our Maryknoll School community, she is in her second year as part of an international exchange program. … Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family and friends during this most difficult time.”
Maryknoll officials notified their partner school and the Chinese Embassy on the mainland, offering their support.
The woman was walking along the sidewalk near Planet Fitness at about 9:15 p.m. Tuesday when a man reportedly threw a liquid chemical onto the front of her body, which caused her skin and clothes to burn, police said.
On Thursday, police released to the public a surveillance video that captured the alleged attempted murder assailant walking along the sidewalk in hopes that someone would recognize him.
On Wednesday, Honolulu Police Homicide Lt. Deena Thoemmes held a news conference, saying the woman told witnesses she did not know the man, and police are trying to determine whether it was a random attack.
He is described as a man in his 20s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, 160 to 180 pounds, with a medium build, wearing a black-hooded jacket, camouflage pants and a white face mask.
He was seen fleeing on foot toward Kapiolani Boulevard. He was last seen shirtless, riding a bicycle with a black backpack from Kona Street onto Keeaumoku Street.
The teacher managed to enter Planet Fitness, and people provided aid by pouring water over her until paramedics arrived.
They were able to speak to her, but she soon lost consciousness.
Police said they were testing the liquid to determine the type of chemical that was used.
Police would not say where the woman had been prior to the attack.
Planet Fitness manager Adan Mendoza said Thursday morning that he worked the night of the attack, but the fitness center’s personnel have been instructed not to say anything about the events of the night.
“Nobody so far has recognized the person in the video,” he said, including himself.
“It’s tragic,” Mendoza said. “It’s crazy that something like this would happen. I just don’t understand it — the type of person it takes to do something like that and just walk away nonchalantly. It’s got to be a broken person to pull something like that.”
Ching, a past president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said two members from the Los Angeles Chinese Consulate are in Honolulu and are allowed to visit the woman in the hospital, along with a Maryknoll teacher designated by her family to handle her personal affairs in Hawaii.
Several organizations are trying to raise money to help cover her medical bills, including the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, which has set up a GoFundMe page. Ching’s organization and a Chinese literature organization are also trying to help.
The money also may be used to bring her parents to Honolulu.
