17-year-old arrested in San Bruno on hate crime charges after allegedly threatening man praying outside his car, police say

SAN BRUNO, California – San Bruno police accused a teenager of threatening a person who was praying in a shopping center parking lot on Saturday.

The victim said he was praying in front of his vehicle in the parking lot on El Camino Real around 2:40 p.m. when someone approached him with a knife, police reported.

The victim, who identified himself as Middle Eastern/Afghan, said the person with the knife threatened to kill him and made derogatory comments about his ethnicity.

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The suspect fled in a vehicle, leaving the victim unharmed. Police found the vehicle and arrested the driver, a 17-year-old identified by the victim.

The teenager was being held on charges of committing a hate crime, brandishing a deadly weapon and making criminal threats, police said.

Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to contact the San Bruno Police Department at (650) 616-7100 or [email protected].