LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The Nevada Attorney General’s Office says the state is seeing a rise in hate crimes, with Las Vegas metro police reporting 123 in just the past six months, but many more go unreported.
Inside a North Las Vegas restaurant Maria Zamora says she was just doing her job – until a customer’s frustration turned into a heated argument.
“She said so many bad words that I don’t really want to repeat it like, you know, she said illegals go back to your country,” Zamora said.
It didn’t stop there, the woman demanded Maria’s social security number, threatened to call ICE, and then followed her around the restaurant, screaming in her face.
“No matter who you are, no matter what kind of race where you come from…nobody deserves to be treated like that.”
In just the last six months, Las Vegas Metro Police reported 123 hate crimes. But state leaders say many more go unreported.
Nevada’s Attorney General Aaron Ford launched a hate crime hotline – a first of its kind resource to help victims report incidents and get support.
“We’re on track week by week to exceed that average number of hate crimes that we saw reported last year,” said Chief of Staff Teresa Benitez-Thompson.
From January to February of last year, Metro reported 25 hate crimes, but in the same time frame this year that number has jumped to 44 – nearly doubling.
Benitez-Thompson tells us the hotline isn’t just for reporting crimes, it’s for anyone who experiences a hate incident and needs help.
“This is about them calling in getting the support they need, getting the referrals they need and hopefully ultimately, encouraging them to if they feel comfortable enough to file a report with law enforcement,” Benitez-Thompson said.
Maria says she is not going to let this incident stop her from continuing to do her job.
“We have to be as together as a community. We are stronger, we don’t have to fight each other and nobody has to stay silent,” Zamora said.
The hotline is available for anyone who experiences a hate crime or a bias incident. Its confidential and reports won’t automatically go to law enforcement – putting the decision in victims’ hands. The number to call is 775-687-HATE or 775-6874283.
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