Three Muslims wearing hijabs assaulated in Brooklyn by woman yelling ‘Go back to your country!’
Three hijab-wearing Muslims, including a 12-year-old girl, were attacked by a hate-filled woman shouting “Go back to your country” during a wild 11-minute rampage in Brooklyn, officials said Thursday.
The violence began when a 33-year-old woman wearing a hijab – a religious headscarf often worn by Muslim women – was beaten by an unknown assailant outside a preschool on Fifth Avenue near 89th Street in Bay Ridge around 2:25 p.m. Friday, police said.
Eight minutes later, a 39-year-old woman about to board a B53 bus a few blocks away, near 92nd Street and Gelston Avenue, was shoved from behind by the same crazed attacker.
Three minutes later, a 12-year-old girl was punched in the face a block away on Fort Hamilton Parkway and 92nd Street, police said.
The attacker fled, but on Wednesday, cops arrested Megan Horne, 34, of Staten Island, charging her with multiple counts of assault and aggravated harassment as hate crimes.
“I am outraged by the despicable and cowardly attacks against Muslim New Yorkers,” Mayor Mamdani said on X on Wednesday evening. “This violence is unacceptable, and we know that too often, women and girls who are visibly Muslim and wear the hijab bear the brunt. »
None of the victims were seriously injured. In each incident, the attacker shouted “Go back to your country!” » said Councilwoman Kayla Santosuosso (D-Bay Ridge).
“I can only imagine the lasting fear and trauma this caused,” Santosuosso wrote on X.
Horne was previously arrested for hitting and shoving a 64-year-old woman she did not know on Oct. 5, but that incident was not considered a bias crime, officials said.
His arraignment for Friday’s assaults was pending Thursday in Brooklyn Criminal Court.
“I am grateful to see an arrest made in the disgusting, Islamophobic attacks in Bay Ridge,” Gov. Hochul said on social media Wednesday. “No New Yorker, especially a child, should ever be targeted because of their faith. We will continue to crack down on hate crimes to the fullest extent of the law.”
