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A middle school student in Connecticut faces a hate crime charge for her alleged involvement in a physical assault on twin Muslim sisters at their school in early March, according to police.
The accused 12-year-old girl was charged with intimidation based on bigotry and bias in the first and second degree, according to the Waterbury Police Department.
The alleged assault took place on March 3 at Wallace Middle School in the girls’ locker room during gym class, police said in a statement.
The 12-year-old allegedly yanked the hijabs off the twin sisters’ heads and battered the pair — who were new to the school — leaving one with a black eye and the other with a slash on the neck, according to a local Islamic group.
Investigators “determined that the altercation was motivated by religion and/or ethnicity, meeting the definition of a hate crime.” Its classification was also confirmed by the Waterbury State’s Attorney’s Office.
The Connecticut chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations determined that the twin students, both 13 years old, were targeted for wearing hijabs.
CAIR-CT chair Farhan Memon told CBS News that the twins had faced a series of verbal attacks and other threatening behavior since enrolling in the school in October.
Memon said that the accused student attacked the twins from behind in the locker room and pulled off their hijabs. One student sustained a black eye and several bruises, while the other had a cut across her neck caused by an unidentified sharp object, Memon told the outlet.
“The parents of the victims sought CAIR’s assistance because they felt that they were not receiving sufficient communication from the school regarding disciplinary actions against the perpetrators or a clear plan to ensure their daughters’ safety,” the organization said in a post on Facebook.
A 13-year-old student also accused in the assault was instead referred to a youth diversionary program, police said.
Because all of the students involved were minors, their names were not released by police.
The Waterbury Department of Education ensured that they would be taking additional steps going forward to protect students subjected to bullying, including “enhanced school safety measures in response to the incident” on top of disciplinary action.
