SAINT PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — A St. Pete man was arrested Monday after attacking a child on a public bus while calling them a racial slur, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
On Monday, around 5:15 p.m., 67-year-old Kim Nelson, of St. Petersburg, began calling the child a slur multiple times in front of other passengers.
After the bus stopped at their shared location, Nelson followed the child off the bus and hit the juvenile three times with his hand.
Nelson struck the victim in front of the child’s left shoulder/upper left chest area. Police said this caused the victim to “suffer discomfort and fear.”
Investigators said Nelson did not know the child and that it should be noted the child was black. A fact that Nelson admittedly was aware of before calling the child the slur and striking them.
Following his arrest, Nelson was charged with child abuse, a third-degree felony. His bond was set at $10,000.