Hispanic Woman Assaulted In Possible Hate Crime At Fort Mason

Hispanic Woman Assaulted In Possible Hate Crime At Fort MasonPhoto: greychr/Flickr
Rose Garrett
Published on November 15, 2016

An Hispanic woman who works as a nanny was assaulted while watching two children in Fort Mason's Great Meadow yesterday morning, reports KPIX

According to the news report, a man dressed in black grabbed the woman by her hair and neck, shoved her, and told her “No Latinos here” in broken Spanish. She sustained scratches on her arms, but was not seriously injured.

A Good Samaritan called the police, and the suspect was detained and booked for resisting arrest.

Supervisor Mark Farrell, whose district includes Fort Mason, issued a statement in the incident this morning:

“Hate, discrimination, and violence are not welcome and will never be tolerated in San Francisco. San Francisco is known across the world as a place that accepts people for who they are regardless of their religion, ethnicity, or sexual identity.

With hate crimes unfortunately on the rise across the country, we must recommit as a city and country to fight against hate, discrimination, and violence anywhere it may rear its ugly head. Hate and discrimination fester and grow when we do not address and challenge it. We must never sit idly by when members of our community are targeted because of their ethnicity, or color of their skin.

Thankfully, the San Francisco Police Department has the suspect who may have committed this hate crime in custody and are currently investigating the alleged crime further. If it is indeed found to be a hate crime, I urge the full penalty for the individual who committed this disgusting act.”

The Chronicle reports that the suspect may have mental health issues, and was taken to SF General Hospital for a 72-hour psychiatric evaluation. He is not facing hate crime or assault charges because there were no witnesses, and the victim did not get a clear look at her assailant, according to authorities.

The incident joins reports of anti-immigrant incidents in the Bay Area following last week's election of Donald Trump, whose campaign rhetoric calling for mass deportations has left many Americans fearful of racially motivated harassment.