Police: Man punched, shoved victim in alleged hate crime

SEATTLE -- Police arrested a 57-year-old man Thursday evening for allegedly physically assaulting another man while uttering racial slurs.

Officers were called around 10 p.m. to a shelter in the 500 block of 3rd Avenue with report of two men fighting. When police arrived, they spoke with the adult male victim, who said the suspect had thrown punches at him and slammed him against a bus.

The victim, who is black, told officers that the suspect had used racial slurs during the assault, police said. The victim told police he believed he had been targeted because of his race.

The suspect was arrested nearby and booked into the King County Jail on investigation of malicious harassment -- otherwise known as a hate crime.