By Mary O’KEEFE

By now many in the area – if not the country – have heard of the unmasked man who aggressively approached Rosemont Middle School children on Jan. 20 at about 3:30 p.m. at the Marketplace parking lot in the 2600 block of Foothill Boulevard.

Videos of the confrontation were initially shared on social media along with photos of the encounter. The unmasked man was heard yelling at everyone within earshot that masks don’t work.

The Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) state that COVID-19 spreads mainly from person to person through respiratory droplets that travel through the air when a person coughs, sneezes, talks, shouts or sings. Droplets can land in the mouths and noses of people nearby or they can breathe in these droplets. Masks are a simple barrier to help prevent respiratory droplets from reaching others.

The video that was recently posted on social media was filmed by a concerned parent who had noticed the unmasked man harassing kids about masks.

“I came out of the UPS store and saw him,” the parent said. “He was yelling at the kids and no one else was doing anything about it.”

So the parent approached the man and, as can be heard on the video, asked him what was going on.

That’s when the unmasked angry man became even angrier.

“You are all hypnotized by fear,” he yelled.

The parent told the man to just leave the kids alone. He then asked how this issue began. The unmasked man continued to yell about masks, again stating they didn’t work, and were part of “this tyranny.”

And then he said the masks were “part of child abuse” – as he was yelling vulgarities and harassing the children.

The parent continued to clarify he did not want to talk to him about the mask; he just wanted him to leave the kids alone.

“I understand his right not to want to wear a mask or to [share his opinion] but the kids have rights, too,” the parent said.

The unmasked man continued to walk toward his vehicle, then come back and yell again about masking.

“At one point he got into his car and then got out; the car was not in park and began to roll,” the parent said. “The guy [then] got into his car and drove off.”

That was another worry, that the unmasked man was so upset that he was not paying attention to the safety of others, the parent added.

Once the incident was posted on social media, other people began to share stories of this same man and his rants directed at kids and adults that apparently have been going on for months. Some parents shared they had seen him in Montrose and many shared they encountered him at Fremont Elementary School.

Glendale Unified School District confirmed they have been dealing with this individual on several occasions and on Jan. 11 GUSD issued a civility letter to the man. This letter allowed school administrators to notify the person in question that permission to be on school/district property has been withdrawn.

Local resident Emily Lanigan was not at the Marketplace parking lot on Jan. 20 but she began getting phone calls from parents and community members about the incident. After seeing the video, she was worried about the kids because the man appeared to be getting more agitated and she knew from talking to other that he had behaved in this manner in the past; however, her main concern was the response by law enforcement.

“[Deputies responded] but didn’t take a report,” Lanigan said.

She questioned why the responding deputy didn’t take a report from the students or adults who witnessed the incident.

“This man appears to be a predator and yet there’s no incident report with Glendale police or sheriffs,” Lanigan said.

Fremont Elementary is under the jurisdiction of the Glendale Police Dept.; Rosemont Middle School and the Marketplace parking lot is under the jurisdiction of Los Angeles Sheriff’s Dept.–Crescenta Valley Station.

Several parents on social media mentioned the man had harassed their children; when they asked him to stay away he continued his rant over masks. Other photos and videos show he came very close to the students while he was yelling his opinion.

In addition, according to parents and Lanigan, when the deputy responded to the Marketplace parking lot he spoke to the students about freedom of speech but never took a report from the students regarding the harassment.

Although sources have confirmed school administrators had contacted the GPD about the individual, according to GPD they have only one report concerning Fremont Elementary.

“Our department and our SRO [school resource officer] are aware of this male’s past behavior that occurred outside our jurisdiction and are in communication with GUSD to ensure the safety of all GUSD students, parents of students and personnel,” said Sgt. Christian Hauptmann, GPD spokesman.

LASD at Crescenta Valley Sheriff Station Lt. Ryan Vienna is now in charge of the investigation.

“We are conducting a review of the Jan. 20 incident,” Vienna said.

In addition to the call for service on Jan. 20 a complaint was filed on Saturday concerning this incident.

Vienna is reviewing the videos and contacting GUSD.

LASD-CV Station and GPD are asking anyone who witnessed any incident concerning this man to contact the agency that handles their area: CV Station (818) 248-3464 and Glendale Police Dept. (818) 548-4911.

“COVID -19 spreads when an infected person breathes out droplets and very small particles that contain the virus. These droplets and particles can then be breathed in by other people or land on their eyes, noses, or mouth. Masks protect others by containing the droplets and particles you breathe, cough, or sneeze out. And, if the mask fits closely to your face and filters well, it protects you from particles spread by others,” according to County of Los Angeles Public Health.

For high-speed camera footage on YouTube on how different types of face masks work visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNeYfUTA11s.