HUNTINGTON BEACH : Man Tells Police of Racial Assault

Three apparent “skinheads” allegedly assaulted a Huntington Beach man Monday in a racially motivated incident, police said.

The 26-year-old victim, who is black, walked into the Police Department and told officers that he was attacked about 7:45 a.m. in the back parking lot of a shopping center at 8901 Warner Ave.

The victim, who was not identified, said the suspects were working on a car when one of them yelled a racial slur at him. He said he yelled back at the group, and they then “assaulted, beat and kicked” him, Police Sgt. Luis Ochoa said.

“The victim received scrapes and bruises,” he reported.

The man managed to run away after one of the suspects threatened him with a knife, Ochoa said.

Skinheads, so called because of their extremely short hair, are known for their white supremacist beliefs and violent behavior, authorities said.

According to Mary Ann Gaido of the Orange County Human Relations Commission, hate crimes “appear to be on the upswing.”

Although the commission has no statistics on the hate crimes, Gaido said, the number of incidents reported to the commission has increased in the last couple of years. She said, however, that there “have not been too many reports of this type of assault.”

Most of the hate crimes reported in the county have consisted of derogatory leaflets and name-calling, Gaido said.

Police are investigating Monday’s incident.