An unarmed 21-year-old black man leaving his Airbnb rental was shot by a white man named Mark Waters, the The San Jose Police Department said in one press release on Friday.
“We will not tolerate such senseless and violent acts in this county. We wish the victim a speedy recovery and will ensure that he receives justice for this brutal attack,” said District Attorney Jeff Rosen in the release.
Waters’ arraignment will take place on Monday. It is also being investigated as a hate crime, the department added. The incident took place on October 2.
The victim’s name was not on the release, but according to the police statement, he stayed in an Airbnb in San Jose and walked to a nearby grocery store.
The victim said Waters saw him cross the street, enter the house and grab a gun. The person tried to run away, and Waters shot him when his back was turned and hit him in the leg, resulting in “serious injuries” in the area.
The police gave first aid to the victim and he survived. Police said Waters was in jail, but did not say when. The charges against Waters are felony assault with a semi-automatic firearm resulting in grievous bodily harm and personal use of a firearm.
Black travelers often have reported faced racism and discrimination, including while staying in Airbnb rentals. Per USA todaya 2015 study paper of Harvard University found that people on the platform with names that seemed African American were more likely to be rejected.
This led to an online movement under the hashtag #AirbnbWhileBlack discussing the inability to find housing due to race.
In June 2020, Airbnb announced an anti-discrimination initiative called Project Lighthouse. USA today added.
“Racism, hate and discrimination go against everything we believe in as a company and global community. Since 2016, we have removed 1.3 million people from Airbnb for refusing to treat others without judgment or bias, but there is much more work to do to do”, the company wrote in a release at the time.
In October, Airbnb started testing a function in Oregon that shows only a guest’s initials before confirming the booking.
However, in 2019, the company faced a lawsuit in Oregon alleging that the platform’s way of displaying names and photos opens users up to racial discrimination and settled voluntarily; and the policy feature is “consistent” with that settlement, said the company.
Airbnb did not immediately respond to a request for comment but told NBC News that “we condemn this vicious and unprovoked attack.”
“We thank the San Jose Police Department and the Santa Clara County District Attorney for their work in bringing the perpetrator to account and for sending a message that hate crimes have no place in our society,” their statement said.
businesskinda.com couldn’t get in touch with the San Jose Police Department.
“Everyone should be able to safely walk to the store,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen also said in the release.
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