The Ohio chapter of The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) held a press conference Thursday morning about an attack on a Somali woman that took place on March 20.
The attack took place outside of the Southpark Apartments near Greenfield Drive, where a Muslim woman wearing a hijab, who is being identified as “Faith,” was waiting with her child for a school bus.
In a video, a man is seen leaning over a railing and yelling “I’ll [expletive] kill you and your family,” at Faith. Faith is then punched in the face and dragged to the ground after a struggle. The suspects appeared to be white. Faith was taken to the hospital after calling police.
The video was posted online, where it gained the attention of immigrant nonprofits and Ohio lawmakers, including Munira Abdullahi, who met with Columbus police on March 28 to discuss the case.
Police have identified two suspects, one of whom is a minor. So far, no one has been arrested in connection with the assault.
During their press conference, CAIR-Ohio, along with several other Ohio nonprofits that focus on immigrant and Muslim rights, expressed disappointment at the lack of arrests and charges against the suspects. They also said that they want the attack to be charged as a hate crime.
“There is clear discrimination, not just during the attack, but even after during the reporting process. And so these are all indicators to us that this was absolutely a hate crime,” said Anisa Libon, a community leader.
CAIR-Ohio also said that after the attack, one of the alleged attackers repeatedly made racially-charged comments about Faith to the police officer who was interviewing her.
“This attack is not an isolated incident, but part of a broader pattern of discrimination and hostility that marginalized communities face daily,” said Khalid Turaani, executive director of CAIR-Ohio, in a prepared release.
Columbus police released a statement on Thursday afternoon, stating that they are working with the victim to file charges. Officials have also not ruled out hate crime charges.