The son of a police chief in a Californian city is among two teenagers arrested and charged with attempted robbery and abuse of a 71-year-old Sikh man on Monday, the second attack on a minority community member in the US state within a week, authorities said.


The investigators are trying to determine if the attack was a hate crime. Police arrested 18-year-old Tyrone McAllister and a 16-year-old male juvenile yesterday for the attack on Sahib Singh Natt on the side of a road early morning on August 6 in Manteca. 


McAllister, the son of Union City Police Chief Darryl McAllister, and the juvenile have been charged with attempted robbery, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon.


The Manteca Police Department said it received numerous tips which assisted in the identification of the suspects. Investigations Supervisor sergeant Miller said the public assistance in providing information with this case was instrumental in identifying the suspects and helped in making a quick arrest.


Meanwhile, McAllister's father posted a statement on the Facebook page of the Union City Police department saying he is "completely disgusted' to find out that one of the suspects in this "horrific crime' is his son. He said his son has been "estranged' from his family and home for several months now.


"Words can barely describe how embarrassed, dejected, and hurt my wife, daughters, and I feel right now. Violence and hatred is not what we have taught our children; intolerance for others is not even in our vocabulary, let alone our values," the senior McAllister said in the statement. He said it is difficult for his family to comprehend how one of his three kids, raised with the same values and character, wandered so far astray. -- PTI


Image: Tyrone McAllister. Pic courtesy: Courtesy of Manteca Police Department