Photos of a man wearing a homemade Ku Klux Klan hood as he shopped at a suburban San Diego grocery store caused an uproar on social media over the weekend.
The unidentified middle-aged man, dressed in a camo T-shirt and cargo pants, was photographed Saturday evening in the produce section of a Vons supermarket store in Santee. Employees told him to remove the pointy hood, which he was ostensibly using to comply with face mask requirements in San Diego County.
“Several members of our team asked the customer to remove it, and all requests were ignored until the customer was in the checkout area,” said a spokeswoman for Vons — a Fullerton-based unit of Albertsons.
Several shoppers took photos of the man and posted them on Twitter and Facebook, causing a swift response.
“WHY WAS THIS PERSON NOT REMOVED FROM THE STORE IMMEDIATELY??? IS @vons DOWN WITH THE KLAN???” tweeted journalist and TV host Touré.
Santee Mayor John Minto and the City Council released a joint statement Sunday night denouncing the “attire that depicted a symbol of hatred.” The mayor also said the county Sheriff’s Office was investigating the incident.
