AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) has welcomed the arrest of a Staten Island woman accused of carrying out several anti-Muslim hate attacks in Brooklyn’s Bay Ridge neighborhood, one of whose victims was a 12-year-old Muslim girl.
According to the New York Police Department, 34-year-old Megan Horne attacked three Muslims on January 30 while shouting anti-Islamic slurs. The incidents included pushing and kicking a woman who was walking with her child, assaulting another woman as she was boarding a bus, and punching a child near a school.
Police said all three victims were wearing hijab at the time of the attacks. The suspect has been charged with multiple counts, including assault, aggravated harassment motivated by bias, and endangering the welfare of a child as a hate crime.
Afaf Nasher, Executive Director of CAIR-NY, said in a statement, “While the suspect’s arrest is an important step toward accountability, these attacks are part of a troubling trend of rising anti-Muslim hatred that leaves our communities in fear and vulnerability. Targeting a child underscores the dangerous nature of this violence.”
CAIR-NY stressed that its mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims, adding that it will continue to pursue hate-motivated cases with determination.
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