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'You Brought the Kung Flu Here': Anti-Asian Assault on a 19-Year-Old Triggers UC Public Safety Notice

OHassaulttimely warningmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Darrin Johnson, 27, told a 19-year-old University of Cincinnati student 'You brought the kung flu here ... you're going to die for it' before punching the student in the head, sending him into a parked car's bumper. The Asian American student suffered a concussion and facial lacerations requiring stitches. Two witnesses held Johnson down until Cincinnati Police arrived. Johnson was later federally charged with a hate crime and pleaded guilty in February 2024.

Alerts
2
Response
min
Killed
Injured
Institution
University of Cincinnati
Public R1 · OH
~47,000 studentsUC Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
UC Public Safety Notice: An aggravated assault occurred this evening near the University of Cincinnati main campus. A male student was assaulted by an unknown adult male who used racial slurs related to COVID-19 and physically attacked the victim. The student suffered head injuries and was transported for medical treatment. The suspect was detained at the scene by witnesses and taken into custody by Cincinnati Police. There is no continuing threat to the campus community. UC Public Safety reminds the community to report bias incidents and hate crimes to UCPD or call 911.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

UC's standard practice is to issue Public Safety Notices for off-campus assaults that potentially affect the university community
'No continuing threat' was justified because the suspect was in custody at the scene -- but later student groups argued the broader anti-Asian climate was an ongoing threat the alert did not name
The alert text deliberately avoids naming the victim or the suspect's specific words -- a privacy and prosecution-protection norm
Sent on Move-In Week 2021 -- raising concern among incoming Asian American students and families
FOLLOW-UPEmail+58d
UC Statement on Anti-Asian Hate: The University of Cincinnati condemns the August 17 assault on a UC student that targeted him because of his Asian American heritage. The suspect remains in custody and is being prosecuted by the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office. UC stands with our Asian American, Asian, and Pacific Islander community. Students who have experienced or witnessed bias incidents are urged to report them to the Office of Equity and Inclusion. Counseling services are available through CAPS.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Issued in response to United Asian Advocates' (UAA) public demand for greater university transparency about hate crimes targeting Asian students
Follow-up communications categorizing an incident as bias-motivated are standard for hate crime cases under DOJ guidance
Counseling Services (CAPS) referral was a direct response to AAPI student concerns about mental health support
October 2021 timing also tracks the formal hate-crime designation by Cincinnati Police
Context

Background

The August 17, 2021 attack on a 19-year-old University of Cincinnati student became one of the most-prosecuted anti-Asian COVID-era hate crimes on a US college campus. According to federal court records and DOJ filings, Darrin Johnson approached the student near campus, told him 'Go back to your country' and 'You brought the kung flu here ... you're going to die for it,' then punched him in the head. The student fell into the bumper of a parked car, suffering a concussion and facial lacerations. Two witnesses held Johnson down until police arrived. Johnson was charged in state court and sentenced to 360 days in jail. A federal grand jury indicted him on hate-crime charges in November 2022. He pleaded guilty in February 2024. The case became a touchstone for the United Asian Advocates, a UC student organization that publicly criticized the university for what they called insufficient transparency about hate crimes affecting Asian American students. The pandemic-era surge in anti-Asian violence -- documented by Stop AAPI Hate at nearly 11,000 incidents from March 2020 to December 2021 -- formed the broader context.
Analysis

Key Findings

One of the few COVID-era anti-Asian campus hate crimes that resulted in both state and federal prosecution -- providing rich documentary evidence
The UC Public Safety Notice followed Clery timely warning conventions but was criticized by AAPI student groups for not naming the racial motivation explicitly
Bystander intervention by two witnesses prevented the suspect from fleeing -- a rare and notable element of campus-area violence
UC's follow-up institutional statement (October 2021) was a model for explicitly naming a hate-crime motivation in post-incident communications
Outcome
Suspect taken into custody by Cincinnati Police at scene. Charged in state court with assault and criminal intimidation; sentenced to 360 days in jail. Federal grand jury indicted Johnson on hate crime charges in November 2022. Pleaded guilty February 2024. Student treated at hospital and recovered. United Asian Advocates student group demanded greater UC transparency on hate crimes targeting Asian students.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
  2. News
  3. Student Paper
  4. News
  5. News
Tags
anti-asian-hate-crimehate-crimecovid-eraassaulttimely-warningohiokung-flufederal-prosecutionaapibystander-intervention
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion