AAPI lawyers band together to help victims of crimes that appear to target Asian Americans

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — On the night of April 17, Johnny and Nikki Hang’s home in Lawrenceville was shot up while their family was inside.

The Hangs told 11Alive exclusively they believe they may have been targeted because they’re Asian American. When 11Alive asked Gwinnett County police about it, they said they are still investigating.

Since sharing the Hangs story, the Korean American Bar Association of Georgia and the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association have stepped up, free of charge, to help victims -- like the Hangs -- navigate the aftermath of a crime like this through legal advice, funds, or networking. 

They fear without resources, some victims won’t report crimes to police.

“It’s about making people feel supported. As lawyers, we’re uniquely situated and it’s a very tight network in terms of law enforcement and knowing the system,” said Sara Hamilton, President of the Korean American Bar Association of Georgia.

The Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association President, Angela Hsu, said both organizations are holding a launch event next month for an initiative called the “The AAPI Crime Victims and Education Fund” to assist victims.

“There are these victims, classes of victims, out there that run out of money and they have a lot of needs and there isn’t any kind of national funds out there to support them so I think that was kind of the inception of it,” said Hsu.

RELATED: Asian family in Lawrenceville fears they were targeted after someone shot up their home

Hsu and Hamilton said they were motivated to do this because of what they’ve seen between a reported uptick in anti-Asian crimes since the pandemic and the metro Atlanta spa shootings last month.

In those shootings, six of the eight killed were Asian women. Investigators haven’t said if the shooter targeted some of the victims because of their race, but Hsu and Hamilton said the killings have left the Asian community in fear and need of help.

“I think we need to be visible because I think a lot of people actually aren’t aware that this sort of thing happens to Asian Americans,” said Hsu.

The launch event is on May 24 and Hamilton said you or your corporation can donate directly to the fund to help victims of AAPI-targeted crimes.