LAND O'LAKES, Fla. - Tampa Bay area deputies are searching for a suspect in what is being called a hate crime, after a man was shot in the face with a pellet gun.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office reports that a man and his girlfriend were shopping at a Walmart early Wednesday when the suspect started harassing them, believing the man was from the Middle East.

As the man and his girlfriend approached their car, the suspect came up to them and made several comments and then shot the man in the face with a pellet gun.

The suspect then ran off and hasn't been caught. The victim wasn't seriously hurt.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is asking the FBI to investigate the case.