TORRANCE — Lena Hernandez, the woman at the center of a Torrance Police Department search following three separate incidents involving physical and verbal attacks on individuals of Asian and Pacific Islander ancestry, has been found in a San Pedro park and questioned by detectives.
Sgt. Alexander Martinez, TPD public information officer, reported on June 17 that detectives conducted an interview with Hernandez and, based on the information obtained in the interview, have submitted their findings to the Torrance city prosecutor.
In two cellphone videos shot at Wilson Park by the victims, Hernandez, a Long Beach resident, harasses an Asian woman in one case and an Asian man and his young son in another. On Friday, hundreds of people of all backgrounds gathered in the park to denounce racism.
In a third incident, the suspect is alleged to have physically assaulted the victim at the Del Amo Mall in October 2019.
Based on the fact that all three incidents are misdemeanor crimes and did not occur in the presence of an officer, Hernandez was not arrested at the time of the interview.