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Cleveland police need help identifying man who punched woman and accused her of being in the KKK

Posted at 1:26 PM, Aug 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-23 18:07:33-04

Cleveland police need help identifying another man involved in a hate crime — the second one in Cleveland this week.

On Sunday, a woman was visiting her friends in the 2900 block of Archwood Avenue when a man, pictured above, came up to her without warning and started punching her in the jaw.

"I'm not a racist, I never said anything to this man, and I don't want this to happen to anyone else's mom, sister daughter," the victim said.

She said she wants to share a message of unity.

"I think everybody should stop, aren't we supposed to be pulling together? We live in the United States of America we're all equal," she said. "There seems to be so much discontent amongst everyone, every race."

Police said they do not believe the two hate crimes are related.

This hate crime makes it the seventh one this year, according to Jennifer Ciaccia of the Cleveland Police Department.

The woman fell to the ground as a result of the punch.

RELATED: Cleveland police need help identifying man wanted in hate crime

The suspect yelled that she was in the Ku Klux Klan and a white supremacist who uses racial slurs against black people, according to Cleveland police. 

The photo above was taken by another victim who was also assaulted by the suspect and accused of being in the KKK.

Police ask if anyone recognizes the man in the picture to contact Detective Williams at 216-623-2708.