Man arrested on suspicion of hate crime against Korean woman at Tustin park

Tustin police have arrested a man on suspicion of committing a hate crime after he allegedly made racial comments toward a Korean woman and punched her in the stomach.

Late Sunday morning, police responded to the 1600 block of Valencia Avenue on reports of a possible assault and battery, according to a statement from the Tustin Police Department.

A woman told officers that she had pepper-sprayed Jauhar Tajuddin Shuaib, 42, as he had attacked her, authorities said.

Shuaib, a resident of Irvine, was arrested on suspicion of committing a hate crime, assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, sexually motivated annoyance, assault in a public park, disturbing the peace, loitering about a place where children congregate, and use of abusive or profane language in parks in violation of the Tustin municipal code.

It was unclear who is representing Shuaib.

The Orange County district attorney’s office said it was still determining whether to file charges.