SAN DIEGO.- A staff member from the Mexican Consulate in San Diego was assaulted by an American citizen while riding a bus.

The incident occurred last Sunday afternoon, but the information has just been made public through and official statement from the Consulate, condemning the actions committed against the Mexican staff member, calling it a 'hate crime'.

Remedios Gómez, Mexico's Consul General in San Diego, pointed that the victim was having a phone conversation with his family, located in Mexico, when the aggressor boarded the bus, approached him slowly while swearing and making violent threats against him, before finally hitting the staff member repeatedly in the face.

The assaulter's bail was set at $45,000, with another $10,000 added for similar charges in a previous case.

The full statement is as follows:

"The Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego strongly condemns the recent assault against a member of our staff by a U.S. citizen. Due to the circumstances on how such crime took place, the case has been legally characterized as a hate crime by the local authorities, who immediately conducted an investigation on this matter.

"The Consulate calls for the recognition of the contributions of the Mexican community to the economy, society, as well as to the values and culture of the United States of America. Such contributions should be the backbone of the close relationship between our communities.

"Mexico rejects any act of violence motivated by race, national origin or migratory status of any person and reiterates its commitment to protect the rights of all Mexican nationals in the United States, regardless of their migratory status."

More news in SanDiegoRed.com

Stay connected to San Diego Red through Facebook and Twitter.

ariday.ortega@sandiegored.com

Translated by axel.alcala@sandiegored