Video shows racist California woman deliberately coughing on Hispanic baby twice while standing in store
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA: A woman allegedly deliberately coughed on a baby boy twice while standing in line at a store.
The woman, who is yet to be identified, is seen in a video shared by California police removing her mask at a frozen yogurt shop before coughing on a one-year-old baby. His mother is seen in the footage pushing a stroller and waiting on line behind the suspect in the June 12 incident.
At one point in the video, the frame switches, and the woman in the mask is seen pointing at the ground. The mother is also seen pointing at the ground before the suspect gets closer to her.
You can watch the video here:
The woman pulls her mask down as she nears the stroller and proceeds to cough two or three times on the child. The mother is then seen pulling a cover on the stroller in a bid to protect her baby boy. The woman who coughed on the baby is captured in another frame walking out of the store.
Speaking to ABC 7, the baby's mother Mireya Mora claimed the woman "did it on purpose". "Coughing on someone's face. She did it on purpose it's not like she did it on accident, oh cough, cough — no she purposely coughed on my son's face," she said.
According to the mother, the woman standing in front of her became enraged that she was standing too close to her.
"It happened so quick I was in shock. She got close, she took off her mask, and she coughed three times super hard on my son's face," Mora recalled to the outlet. She said she believed the woman "may be racist." "I believe this woman may be racist because the family in front of her is white," Mora told ABC 7. "Me and my grandma are Hispanic and she started telling me about my distance and harassing me and my son once I started speaking Spanish to my grandma."
Law enforcement has since solicited the public's help in identifying the suspect who allegedly deliberately coughed on the child.
"The preliminary investigation revealed the suspect was upset the female was not maintaining proper social distancing, so the suspect removed her face mask, got close to the baby’s face, and coughed 2-3 times," San Jose police said in a statement. "The suspect left the scene and has not been identified or apprehended."
The incident reportedly took place at around 5.25 pm at a Yogurtland in San Jose, police said. The woman was described as a white female with a medium build in her 60s. At the time of the incident, she was reportedly wearing a gray bandana, a long sleeve shirt with gray vertical lines, and white dress pants, according to The Sun.
The suspect was also wearing patterned tennis shoes and glasses, cops said.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (408) 947-STOP (7867). Anonymous tips can be sent through a link to Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers. Law enforcement has also announced a cash reward for anyone with information that leads to the suspect's arrest and conviction.