AhlulBayt News Agency: Authorities in Detroit are being urged to investigate a knife attack on a young Muslim and Arab girl as a hate crime, amid a significant rise in targeted and discriminatory attacks over the past year.
On Tuesday, a 73-year-old man attacked 7-year-old Saida Mashrah at Detroit’s Ryan Park while she was with her grandmother.
According to reports, the man approached Saida with a knife, lifted her head, and slashed her throat. Saida managed to escape by kicking him and rushing home to her mother.
The suspect, identified as Gary Lansky from Detroit, was taken into custody the same day and charged with assault with intent to murder and felonious assault. Police believe Lansky may have been suffering from mental illness, a claim supported by his wife, leading them to initially dismiss the possibility of a hate crime.
The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office stated there is no sufficient evidence to classify the attack as a hate crime, with spokesperson Maria Miller reiterating on Friday that they “have no evidence of a hate crime in the case.”
However, the girl's mother, 32-year-old Amirah Sharhan, emphasized the potential of the attack being motivated by discriminatory views of Saida’s Muslim and Yemeni heritage. “Why did he aim for her? Why come out of nowhere? Why?” Sharhan asked on Friday. “I don’t want my daughter’s case to be pushed to the side, at all.”
Calls for a thorough investigation have also come from the Council on American Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) Michigan branch. Executive Director Dawud Walid stated, “We urge the Detroit Police Department and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office to conduct a comprehensive investigation into this matter to determine whether hate was a motivating factor in the attack.”
US Representative for Detroit, Rashida Tlaib, also called for the attack to be investigated as a hate crime, stating on X that the “constant dehumanization of Arab and Muslim people is resulting in hate crimes across our country.”
CAIR has reported a constant rise in anti-Muslim hatred in the past year since the start of the war in Gaza.
In one of the most tragic incidents last October, a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy was stabbed to death in Illinois. Police charged a 71-year-old man with murder and a hate crime for the stabbing, which also seriously injured the boy's mother. According to police, the attacker targeted the victims due to their religion and the ongoing war in Gaza.
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On Tuesday, a 73-year-old man attacked 7-year-old Saida Mashrah at Detroit’s Ryan Park while she was with her grandmother.
According to reports, the man approached Saida with a knife, lifted her head, and slashed her throat. Saida managed to escape by kicking him and rushing home to her mother.
The suspect, identified as Gary Lansky from Detroit, was taken into custody the same day and charged with assault with intent to murder and felonious assault. Police believe Lansky may have been suffering from mental illness, a claim supported by his wife, leading them to initially dismiss the possibility of a hate crime.
The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office stated there is no sufficient evidence to classify the attack as a hate crime, with spokesperson Maria Miller reiterating on Friday that they “have no evidence of a hate crime in the case.”
However, the girl's mother, 32-year-old Amirah Sharhan, emphasized the potential of the attack being motivated by discriminatory views of Saida’s Muslim and Yemeni heritage. “Why did he aim for her? Why come out of nowhere? Why?” Sharhan asked on Friday. “I don’t want my daughter’s case to be pushed to the side, at all.”
Calls for a thorough investigation have also come from the Council on American Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) Michigan branch. Executive Director Dawud Walid stated, “We urge the Detroit Police Department and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office to conduct a comprehensive investigation into this matter to determine whether hate was a motivating factor in the attack.”
US Representative for Detroit, Rashida Tlaib, also called for the attack to be investigated as a hate crime, stating on X that the “constant dehumanization of Arab and Muslim people is resulting in hate crimes across our country.”
CAIR has reported a constant rise in anti-Muslim hatred in the past year since the start of the war in Gaza.
In one of the most tragic incidents last October, a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy was stabbed to death in Illinois. Police charged a 71-year-old man with murder and a hate crime for the stabbing, which also seriously injured the boy's mother. According to police, the attacker targeted the victims due to their religion and the ongoing war in Gaza.
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