The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating an alleged bias crime after a Muslim woman was attacked by three men, police said.
The incident began Thursday night when 18-year-old Yasmin Seweid got onto a northbound 6 train platform and waited for her train. Three men who appeared to be intoxicated started shouting “Donald Trump” in her direction, a law enforcement official said.
She soon boarded the train and was in the back of the car while the three men went toward the middle, continuing to taunt the college student. The group yelled “You don’t belong here,” and called her a terrorist, the official said. They then reached for the strap of her purse to try and get her attention, the official said.
The train pulled into 42nd Street, and that’s where someone in the group followed her and tried to pull off her hijab, the official said. The man partially removed the head covering before she found an NYPD officer and reported the incident.
Police described the suspects as between 20 and 23 years old, around 5-feet-10 and weighing around 170 pounds. All of them were described as clean-shaven, police said.
The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the alleged attack on Friday.
“American Muslims, and particularly men and women who wear religious attire, are being increasingly targeted by hate nationwide in the wake of the Nov. 8 election,” said CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher. “Our elected leaders and local law enforcement authorities must continue to take strong action to protect Muslims and other minority groups in a period of growing Islamophobia and political division.”
No one has been taken into custody in connection with the incident, police said Saturday.
With Newsday
