The San Diego County Sheriff's Department received reports of a man allegedly wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood as 'face-covering' in a grocery store last weekend.

According to a media site, the incident occurred at Santee Vons. A spokeswoman from the store revealed their employees asked the shopper he needed to remove the hood or be forced to leave. He eventually took the hood off and paid for his items. 

Lieutenant Ricardo Lopez said the sheriff's department is looking into the incident as a possible hate crime. 

San Diego resident Tiam Tellez first shared an image of the event on his Facebook account. He called the incident troublesome and disgusting.

The disturbance occurred a day after San Diego County officials required residents to wear face coverings when going out in public in an effort to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Vons released a statement where they emphasized fostering an environment of courtesy and respect is their top priority. They called the incident "alarming and isolated" and said they were shocked that a customer chose to wear an offensive face covering. 

San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacobs condemned the incident, saying there is no place for hate or blatant racism in the county. 


Santee Town

Santee, the town where the incident occurred, was previously known as a hotbed of racist activity. 

In 1998, five white men paralyzed a 21-year-old African-American Marine in a high-profile, alcohol-fueled hate crime. The perpetrators broke the victim's next during an ambush at a party: the victim, Cpl. Carlos Colbert was paralyzed from the neck down. 

Four of the men pleaded guilty to the assault. The fifth man, 20-year-old Jesse Lawson, pleaded guilty to the crime and admitted that race was his motive. 

Lawson was sentenced to nine years behind bars. His four other co-conspirators were given one year in jail and five years on probation. 

Colbert said he followed a fellow Marine outside to help a woman who was hit by a "skinhead." He was jumped and beaten by then men who shouted racial slurs during the attack. 

In 2010, a 15-year-old Peckerwoods gang member attacked a white resident who had two African-American children. The suspect hit the man over the head with his skateboard. The victim sought medical attention and needed 17 stitches. The attacker is reportedly the son of a Peckerwood gang member who was involved in the 1998 hate crime. 

In 2014, the town's school district offered to pay a black woman after she complained about racial discrimination at Cajon Park Elementary School. She was told to drive her children to a different school district in exchange for money. The children were reportedly bullied and belittled by a teacher who made fun of them during Black History Month. 

The community is in the midst of an effort to rebrand itself after being labeled with unflattering nicknames such as 'Klantee' and 'Santucky.' Officials hired a marketing firm to help improve the image of the 60,000-strong town.


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