A family denounced an act of discrimination on social media that occurred at a shopping mall in Mazatlán, where security personnel asked them to leave because their son, a child with autism, was barefoot.
The incident was made public on Thursday through a video posted on social media by Alina, a university professor from La Cruz de Elota, who was visiting the port city with her husband and son.
According to her account, they traveled to Mazatlán so that the child could be evaluated by therapists, and afterward, they went to the mall to eat. She also explained that her son often takes off his shoes because he doesn’t like wearing them.
Alina recounted that upon arriving at the mall, she was carrying the child precisely because he wasn’t wearing shoes, although they had a pair of sandals in his backpack.
She stated that from the moment the security guard saw them, he began communicating via radio, which at the time they assumed was part of his job.
Upon entering the mall, the child began running barefoot through the corridors, and shortly afterward, the conflict arose.
The woman recounted that she went into a boutique at that moment, and upon exiting, she found her husband arguing with the security personnel, who, she said, had requested backup from other officers to remove the family.
“He was already cornering him, telling him that the child couldn’t be there in the mall because he was barefoot, that we had to leave. He explained that the child is autistic, that he doesn’t like shoes, that he has a condition. The man refused, saying, ‘It can’t be done,’ ‘It’s my job,’ ‘You have to leave.’ He became very stubborn about it,” she narrated.
She added that the situation escalated when another guard arrived.
“The other security guard came out from the other side, one over here, another over there. My husband got very upset, and rightly so, of course. Seeing how agitated and angry he was, I decided to tell him, ‘Let’s go to the plaza,’” she added.
The woman lamented what happened and felt that these kinds of situations shouldn’t occur nowadays. She also asked for support in filing a formal complaint with the appropriate authorities.
“We’re in the 21st century, and it’s unacceptable that these kinds of things are happening. How can there be discrimination against a child with a disability for not wearing the right shoe at that moment?” she stated.
After the video circulated, the Gran Plaza Mazatlán shopping center issued a statement on its social media accounts on Friday, without directly addressing the incident, but clarifying its position regarding access to the mall.
“Gran Plaza is a family-friendly space, and everyone is welcome to enter regardless of race, creed, religion, status, community, or gender identity, always within a framework of respect for internal regulations, whose main objective is to safeguard the security of all our customers and visitors, as well as the staff who work here,” the message reads.
In the same document, management indicated that it will request the security company to reinforce the training of its personnel.
“Our commitment is to improve every day, and we request that the company that provides our security services offer ongoing training to its staff to ensure the best possible service for everyone,” it adds.
Source: oem
