An 84-year-old Thai man has died after being brutally attacked in the United States.

Surveillance footage of the incident shows Vicha Ratanapakdee out for a walk in San Francisco on Jan. 28 when an assailant suddenly charges at him from the right of frame.

LATEST: Horrific video of fatal attack Thursday on 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee. Details -> https://t.co/6Z5rqIQpcZ pic.twitter.com/PJnuuWgE3Y

— Evan Sernoffsky (@EvanSernoffsky) February 1, 2021

The attacker viciously shoves Ratanapakdee to the ground before walking away.

According to ABC7, the elderly man was found by police officers lying on the sidewalk and he was conveyed to a hospital having sustained life-threatening injuries.

He died two days later on Jan. 30.

"Racism has once again proven deadly"

San Francisco police have arrested a 19-year-old man named Antoine Watson on suspicion for Ratanapakdee's murder. A woman named Maylasia Goo, 20, was also arrested for being an accessory to the crime.

In a fundraising campaign started by his family, Ratanapakdee's son-in-law Eric Lawson described the 84-year-old as "nearly blind" and a "gentle person".

The family believe the attack was motivated by racist sentiments.

"Racism has once again proven deadly. Anti-Asian racism has become a very serious danger to all Asian Americans, particularly in San Francisco," wrote Lawson.

In a Feb. 2 statement announcing the filing of Watson's charge, San Francicso's District Attorney noted the Asian American Pacific Islander community had bene "victimised by many incidents of violence, hate, and racism since the start of the (Covid-19) pandemic".

Tributes to Ratanapakdee

As of writing, the fundraising campaign has received donations amounting to US$33,486 (S$44,696).

Others have also paid tribute to Ratanapakdee through their social media profiles.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKx322VADWz/

An illustration of Ratanapakdee made by Los Angeles based designer Jonathan Chang prompted many online to change their display pictures as a show of solidarity.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKy-ndgDWWI/

Top image screenshot from dionlimtv's Instagram page and via Eric Lawson's Gofundme campaign page