CULVER CITY, Calif. (AP) — Southern California authorities are investigating an attack on an Asian American woman as a possible hate crime.

A man assaulted the victim around 1 a.m. Monday as she walked to work in Culver City. The attack was recorded by security cameras and the video has been released in an effort to identify the assailant, who fled.

Police say the man asked the woman for a cigarette and she said she did not have one. The man yelled a racial slur and hit her on the head. The blow caused her to fall and suffer a severe ear laceration.