Racial attack at Houston Circle K caught on camera
HOUSTON - A man is seeking justice after what he calls a racial attack at a Circle K gas station.
The incident happened earlier this month and was caught on camera.
Long-time customer John Qong says he was just trying to get food for him and his pregnant girlfriend when an employee at this ‘Circle K’ gas station attacked him with racial slurs.
Here is the part of the exchange between the two men.
"Hey, hello, Chinese, Asian mother******. That, play it in your country, not in America. Get the f*** out of here."
A confrontation between a Circle K employee and a customer on September 5 was caught on camera.
Customer John Wong says he's been shopping at the gas station on Memorial Drive for over 10 years. But this was his first time experiencing racism.
Wong says the clerk refused to sell him and his girlfriend food, and instead lashed out calling him vulgar names.
"This is a complete shock to me. I have no idea why this person started berating me and saying what he was saying," said Wong.
"Circle K needs to get together and put together a program about racial sensitivity," said Civil Rights Lawyer Randall Kallinen.
After learning about the incident, a spokesperson for Circle K said they made the decision to immediately fire the employee.
In a statement, they said, "At Circle K, one of the values we live by is to do the right thing. That means acting with honesty and integrity and treating each other, our customers and our employees with dignity and respect. After learning of a confrontation between an employee and two customers two weeks ago at a Houston location, we made the decision to immediately terminate this employee for violating company policies. Earlier today, we were provided a brief 45-second smartphone video clip of this encounter recorded by the customer that included audio of the exchange. Although the video doesn’t capture the entirety of the incident, what it shows clearly goes against our values and code of conduct. Our investigation continues, and we hope to have a conversation soon with Mr. Wong, his partner and their counsel to fully understand this experience from their perspective."
Wong says he's working on lawsuit against Circle K unless they can come to terms.