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Who is he? San Diego man wears KKK hood to grocery store after county orders

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Santee Vons KKK hood mystery man
Pictured, Santee Vons KKK hood mystery man.
Santee Vons KKK hood mystery man
Pictured, Santee Vons KKK hood mystery man.

Santee Vons KKK hood mystery man shocks supermarket patrons after turning up wearing racist mask amid coronavirus. Search to identity racist man. 

A man was observed going grocery shopping while wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood over the weekend at a Vons store in California. The ‘shocking’ incident occurred a day after San Diego residents were required to wear face coverings in public amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The hooded individual was seen roaming the aisles of a Von supermarket in the San Diego County city of Santee on Saturday, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Store clerks repeatedly asked the un-identified man to remove the hood or leave the premises.

A supervisor approached him at the checkout line and asked him again to take off the hood or leave, company spokeswoman Melissa Hill told the Tribune.

The man finally removed the hood, bought his items and left.

‘At Vons, fostering an environment of courtesy, dignity and respect is one of our highest priorities, and we work hard to hold everyone in our stores to these standards, including customers,’ Hill said.

Of question is why Vons declined to ‘immediately’ remove the man from the store as many on social media have since wondered, with some suggesting that the store was willing to tolerate the man’s open racism to acquire his business.

Posted Tammy Gillies, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League in San Diego, on Twitter

‘Don’t know which angers me more – the person wearing this or the fact that no one in management @Vons Santee did anything about it. ⁦@ADL_SD⁩ would be happy to educate your team. San Diego is

‘It’s shocking yet not surprising that even during these challenging times, we see people emboldened to express hate,’ Gillies told NBC San Diego. ‘History teaches us that during times of crisis people are looking for a scapegoat.’

Santee Mayor John Minto and residents said on social media that the man’s actions did not represent the values of the city of almost 60,000 residents.

‘Many thanks to all who stepped forward to curtail this sad reminder of intolerance,’ Minto said. ‘Santee, its leaders and I will not tolerate such behavior.’

Hate crime? San Diego man shopping in KKK hood faces no charges

Probe launched to identify man:

The weekend incident follows Santee attempting over the years to overcome a history of racially motivated incidents that led to nicknames such as ‘Klantee’ and ‘Santucky.’

The East County city of Santee, with a population around 59,000, was long known for harboring pockets of skinheads and other racist groups.

A woman who posted one of several photos of the shopper on social media told the Times of San Diego: ‘I was in disbelief. He was behind me in line. A man in a wheelchair [went] past and saluted him and he laughed. I took the photo because I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. I’ve grown up in Santee and have never seen such racism right before my eyes.’

‘So troublesome in so many ways this is still happening in Santee at Vons,’ resident Tiam Tellez posted on Facebook. ‘Disgusting!’

County Supervisor Dianne Jacobs also condemned the shopper’s actions.

‘The images I’ve seen are abhorrent,’ she said in a statement. ‘This blatant racism has no place in Santee or any part of San Diego County. It is not who we are. It is not what we stand for and can’t be tolerated.’

Hill, the store’s rep, said: ‘This was a disturbing incident for our associates and customers, and we are reviewing with our team how to best handle such inappropriate situations in the future.’

The San Diego County Sheriff has launched an investigation into the man. To date the man’s identity has yet to be publicly revealed.

It’s not clear if the man would face criminal action if located.

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