A man has been charged in a racist and violent attack on an elderly man in Vancouver in March.

Jamie Bezanson is charged with one count of assault in the attack on a 92-year-old man of Asian descent with dementia, according to court documents.

At the time, police said it was a hate crime.

On March 13, the victim, who suffers from severe dementia, wandered into a convenience store near Nanaimo Street and East 1st Avenue, according to police.

Staff at the convenience store were trying to assist the man, when Bezanson allegedly began yelling racist remarks at the victim that included comments about COVID-19, police said.

Outside the store, police allege the attacker shoved the elderly man, which caused him to fall to the ground and hit his head. The attacker left before police arrived.

Bezanson is scheduled to appear in Vancouver Provincial Court Aug. 10 at 9 a.m.

Vancouver police say they’ve had an increase in reports of anti-Asian hate motivated incidents and criminal behaviour since the beginning of the pandemic.