RAMONA, Calif. (KGTV) — A local mother said her son and another teenager were attacked during a Black Lives Matter protest in Ramona.
Heidi, who wanted to use only her first name, said her son Miguel had been peacefully protesting during the first week of June. Miguel recently graduated from high school.
“I feel like our new generation is going to change something in the future,” he said.
During the protest on June 5 in Ramona, he and his mother said men attacked him and his friend. She said the attack was unprovoked.
RELATED: Man says he was sucker punched at Imperial Beach protest
In video sent to ABC 10News, the unidentified man yelled, “I’m from Ramona!” He then punches a 16-year-old protester. Miguel said he moved his friend out of the way and that’s when the same man attacked him.
“He hits me, I try to grab him so he won’t go away,” Miguel said. “Next thing… I get hit in the back. I was unconscious after that.”
Heidi said the second hit came from a different man. She was at home when the Sheriff’s Department called her.
“As a mother, it was very heartbreaking,” Heidi said.
This is the second attack on protesters caught on camera that ABC 10News has covered recently. On June 7 in Imperial Beach, a man sucker-punched Marcus Boyd, a local businessman.
Heidi said Miguel went to Pomerado Hospital with a concussion, sprained neck, and jaw. She is disappointed with where the Sheriff’s investigation stands.
“Our officer was very, very nice. Are they doing all we think they should do? No.” Heidi said.
Miguel plans to go to EMT school and eventually become a law enforcement officer. He said despite being attacked, he would still protest for causes he believes in.
“I don't want my son to get hurt. but that being said, I'm not raising a man that's going to be afraid to voice his freedom of speech and liberty,” Heidi said.
A Sheriff’s spokesperson told ABC 10News: “Deputies from the Ramona Sheriff’s Substation took a report about this incident. This is being investigated as a battery. As this is an open and active investigation, we can’t go into a lot of details to avoid jeopardizing the outcome of the case.”
