Residents in Santee, California, are expressing their outrage after a man grocery shopping was seen wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood as a facial covering.

The incident occurred one day after the city mandated all residents to wear facial coverings while in public to slow the spread of the coronavirus, reports The San Diego Union-Tribune. Instead of wearing a surgical mask or bandana, the unidentified man wore a white hood around a Vons grocery store.


According to witnesses, some customers found the racist act to be humorous.

“I was in disbelief,” one shopper told the Times of San Diego. “He was behind me in line. Standing quietly. 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.”

According to the Union-Tribune, Vons employees asked the man to remove the hood, but he refused. After the man ignored requests from associates, a supervisor found him at checkout and required him to remove the hood or leave. The man finally complied.

“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,” a Vons spokesperson said in a statement. “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.”

Residents of Santee are now speaking out against the man and are decrying his wearing of the hood.

Regional director of the Anti-Defamation League of San Diego, Tammy Gillies, was shocked by the photos.

"It’s shocking yet not surprising that even during these challenging times, we see people emboldened to express hate. History teaches us that during times of crisis people are looking for a scapegoat,” she told NBC7.

Santee Mayor John Minto said the incident is under investigation by the sheriff’s department, Times of San Diego reported. Minto condemned attire that “depicted a symbol of hatred” in a joint statement released on behalf of the city council and the city of Santee.

“The citizens and Vons employees took steps to address the situation,” the statement read. “Many thanks to all who stepped forward to curtail this sad reminder of intolerance. Santee, its leaders, and I will not tolerate such behavior. Santee and its citizens are great, and this particular individual’s actions are not representative of us as a people and a wonderful city.”

San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob said the man’s actions do not reflect the values of the city's residents.

“This blatant racism has no place in Santee or any part of San Diego County,” she said. “It is not who we are. It is not what we stand for and can’t be tolerated.”

The city has been trying to better its image after it received a reputation of being connected to white supremacists. The city has been nicknamed “Klantee” and “Santucky” after a number of racially motivated attacks.

In 1999, a Black Marine was attacked by five white men who left him with a broken neck while shouting “white power.” Lance Cpl. Carlos Colbert is now living the rest of his life in a wheelchair, reports the Associated Press. The men who beat Colbert pleaded guilty, and one of them admitted it was racially motivated.

face-masksgrocery storeKu Klux KlanSantee-California