Louisville doctor of Korean descent says he was kicked out of Indiana gas station because of his race and fears over COVID-19

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville doctor of Korean descent said he was kicked out of a gas station in Martinsville, Indiana, because of his race and fears over COVID-19.

David, a Louisville-born cancer doctor who asked he be identified only by his first name, said he went to a gas station in Martinsville, about 30 miles southwest of Indianapolis Friday.

An employee at the station yelled at him, the doctor said, and prevented him from coming inside because of his race and fears over the novel coronavirus.

"He was very angry and told me to get out,” David said. “I wasn't allowed to buy anything there, I'm not allowed to use the bathroom there, never come back, don't ever come back. In a very violent and hateful way."

A gas station employee told police that the business was trying to stop the spread of the coronavirus and would not allow people of Chinese descent inside the store.

David was born in Louisville and is of Korean descent.

Police have advised the business against that kind of behavior.

The Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on factors including race.