A jogger has been accused of attacking and racially abusing walker for wearing a face mask to protect himself from Covid.

Student Joseph Munoz, from Fullerton, California, claims he was punched by a random person in the street who called him an ‘idiot’ for wearing a mask.

The alleged suspect, aged in his late 20s, apparently shouted racist phrases at Munoz as the pair began arguing.

He said he was punched repeatedly and has a bruise on his left cheek.

Munoz said the stranger asked him ‘Hey can you breathe in that mask?’.

He responded with ‘yeah’ and claims the walker then said, ‘Oh you’re an f-ing idiot.’

The alleged attack happened on-campus at the California State University at around 7.30am on Wednesday.

Munoz said he ran over to report the incident as the attacker fled the scene. He added that he was left with a bloody nose and bruises on his face following the assault.

The suspect is described as a white male in his late 20s, standing about 5 feet 10 inches tall, wearing red sweatpants and a gray sweatshirt, with brown hair and a stubble beard.

The university is investigating Munoz’s claims and held an emergency meeting of the campus climate response team.

Campus spokesperson Ellen Treanor said: ‘This is really a welcoming, inclusive community, so something like this happening – if it’s from someone outside of the community or inside of the community we respond quickly.’

University president Fram Virjee sent out a note to the campus alerting them of the attack and said ‘violence and threats of violence will not be tolerated in our campus community’.

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