Exclusive: Mastic Beach teen says she was target of racist rant
In a cellphone video recorded by 16-year-old Teaja Diaz, a man could be heard saying, “There’s an African, and then there’s an American, and then there’s a mistake.”
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A Mastic Beach teenager says she was the target of a racist rant. Part of the incident was caught on camera.
In a cellphone video recorded by 16-year-old Teaja Diaz, a man could be heard saying, “There’s an African, and then there’s an American, and then there’s a mistake.”
Diaz, who is Black, says she felt the man was making derogatory comments about her ethnicity. The man was on a skateboard at the time.
“What he did was very hateful, hurtful to me. And I hope he doesn’t do it to no one else ever again,” Diaz said.
The outburst happened on Beaver Drive in Mastic Beach, at around 6:30 a.m. Thursday. Diaz says she was walking to the school bus at the time.
The family called the Suffolk County Police Department to file a report
According to a police spokesperson, hate crimes detectives responded. The incident was found to be non-criminal.
