Maryland

Police: Driver Arrested After Threatening School Crossing Guard, Yelling Anti-Hispanic Slurs

The driver is accused of using an anti-Hispanic slur and told the guard he "did not belong working in this area around white kids"

What to Know

  • A Bethesda man is accused of threatening to kill a school crossing guard and yelling anti-Hispanic remarks at him in D.C.
  • A police report says the man yelled he was a former Marine who "used to shoot people like him at the border."
  • D.C. police are investigating the incident as a hate crime.

A man has been arrested days after a school crossing guard in D.C. said a driver threatened to kill him and yelled anti-Hispanic slurs at him.

D.C. police charged 55-year-old Lionel Kevin Hyater, of Bethesda, Maryland, with felony threats and stalking on Thursday.

A crossing guard was working to protect children on their way home near Lafayette Elementary School in the Chevy Chase neighborhood, about a half-mile east of the Maryland border, about 3:50 p.m. Monday when a man in a blue Nissan started shouting at him, he told police.

The driver used an anti-Hispanic slur, said the crossing guard was an immigrant and said he "did not belong working in this area around white kids," a police report said.

The driver threatened to shoot or run over the crossing guard, and claimed he was a former Marine who "used to shoot people like him at the border," the report says.

The driver drove away, did a U-turn and returned to continue to threaten and berate the crossing guard, according to the report.

Police said Thursday the incident was "potentially" motivated by hate or bias and that the department's hate crime classification does not mean the crime will be prosecuted as a hate crime.

Resident Lily Buerkle said she heard the suspect yell at the crossing guard.

"I heard him say, 'I should just run you over,'" she said.

The driver then allegedly threatened to shoot people, including children, nearby at Broad Branch Market.

On Tuesday, officers provided extra security near Lafayette Elementary. The crossing guard was temporarily reassigned to another school.

People who live in the area were alarmed to read in the police report what the crossing guard said.

"It's sad to know there are people in our community who have those views and express them so freely," one woman said.

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