A man was arrested yesterday for committing a hate crime and battery at the Palo Alto Transit Center. The Palo Alto Police Department responded quickly to the scene after reports of a physical altercation involving two men.

According to the Palo Alto Police Department from the police department, officers arrived within a minute of being called and found the two men involved in the incident. The investigation revealed the suspect, later identified as 63-year-old Charles Murphy, had been openly yelling derogatory remarks about Mexican people. When confronted by a Hispanic man in his twenties simply for asking him to stop, Murphy proceeded to assault him physically. The report noted an attempt by the victim to defensively scare Murphy by displaying a pocketknife, only resulting in further escalation before he managed to escape with a minor facial injury.

The same suspect had moments earlier targeted a second victim, a man in his seventies, after he refused to give Murphy a cigarette, reacting by slapping the cigarette out of the victim's hand. Murphy was cited for two counts of battery for both incidents, along with a hate crime, with all charges being misdemeanors. He was released following the citation.