Man Wears KKK Hood to Grocery Store, Sparks Police Investigation

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urges everyone to wear a mask to protect the coronavirus. People are wearing bandanas, DIY cloth masks, anything to cover up their nose and mouth. Over the weekend, at least one man in the San Deigo area took protective guidelines even further by covering up his entire face with a KKK hood. 

When a security guard at Vons in Santee, California, told the older man to take off his KKK hood, he said to them that he was wearing it to protect himself against COVID-19. But whatever his reasoning is, police are still investigating the matter. 

"California is so liberal and free-flowing."

Meanwhile…a man is photographed wearing a KKK mask at a Vons in Santee, Calif. in 2020. pic.twitter.com/sRMx6U12nr

— Lauren Jones (@LoJoMedia) May 5, 2020

“The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department has been made aware of an incident involving a man wearing a white Ku Klux Klan hood at a grocery store in Santee on Saturday, May 2nd,” they said in a released statement. “Deputies were not called to the scene at the time the incident took place. Detectives from the Sheriff’s Department are looking into the matter and will pursue any appropriate criminal charges. The Sheriff’s Department does not condone hate or any acts of intolerance in our communities. We are a county that is welcoming of people from all backgrounds. Anyone with information on this incident can contact Sergeant Claudia Delgado at (619) 956-4050.”

VONS also released a statement after there was a justified uproar about the incident on social media. They stated, “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. Unfortunately, an alarming and isolated incident occurred at our Vons store in Santee, where a customer chose an inflammatory method of wearing a face covering. Needless to say, it was shocking. Photo circulating on social media allegedly of man wearing Ku Klux Klan hood at the Santee Vons grocery store. Several members of our team asked the customer to remove it, and all requests were ignored until the customer was in the checkout area. 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.”

@vons @NAACP @10News @News8 @sdut @nbcsandiego This male was photographed in The Mission Gorge Von's store (9643 Mission Gorge Rd.) earlier this evening 5/2/20. Wearing a KKK cap, he was asked to remove it by Security personnel, but not to leave the store. Address this issue. pic.twitter.com/lXb3LHWuCP

— Ask Your Doctor if #LongCoViD is Right For You! (@RolfFunCycleIII) May 3, 2020

Thanks to social media, we do know what the man looked like without the KKK hood. So if you happen to see him around San Diego, STAY AWAY from him, but please call the police.