Man Wears KKK Hood while Grocery Shopping in Santee; Mayor Calls it a ‘Sad Reminder of Intolerance’

SANTEE — A man wore a Ku Klux Klan hood while grocery shopping in a Vons in Santee over the weekend, igniting outrage from elected leaders, the head of the Anti-Defamation League in San Diego and others.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department on Monday said detectives were “looking into the matter and will pursue any appropriate criminal charges.” Spokesman Lt. Ricardo Lopez said the matter was being investigated as a hate incident, which could rise to the level of a hate crime “if supported by facts.”

“The Sheriff’s Department does not condone hate or any acts of intolerance in our communities,” the department said in a statement in response to Saturday’s incident. “We are a county that is welcoming of people from all backgrounds.”

Photos shared on social media show the man pushing a cart in the store’s produce area and holding a plastic produce bag while wearing the white hood. At least one photo shows the man, who appears to be white and middle-aged, standing behind the cart without a hood.

A corporate spokeswoman said grocery clerks repeatedly asked the man to remove the hood or leave the store, located in a shopping center on Mission Gorge Road. A supervisor found the man in a checkout line and asked him again to take off the hood or leave, said Melissa Hill, a spokeswoman for Vons, Albertsons and Pavilions stores in Southern California.