A 12-year-old Connecticut student who police say assaulted two of her Muslim classmates has been accused of a hate crime in the attack.
Four seventh-grade students were involved in an altercation at Wallace Middle School in Waterbury, Connecticut, earlier this month, and two 13-year-old Muslim girls were injured, police said.
The injured teens regularly wear hijabs, the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CT) has said. Their relatives called for an investigation into the attack, arguing that the teens may have been targeted because of their religion, police said.
Waterbury Police on Friday said in a statement that authorities determined “the altercation was motivated by religion and/or ethnicity.”
The 12-year-old was charged in juvenile court with intimidation based on bigotry and bias in the first and second degree, authorities said. A second student has been referred to a youth diversionary program rather than being arrested, police said.
Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski said the attack, which happened March 3, was an “isolated incident,” and interim Superintendent of Waterbury Public SchoolsDarren Schwartz said the attack did not represent a bigger issue within the school.
“While this was not part of a widespread problem, this is an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to ensure our students are safe and respectful of one another,” he said in a statement.
CAIR-CT called the attack “unacceptable.”
“Schools must be safe spaces for all students, regardless of their religion or ethnicity,” Farhan Memon, chair of CAIR-CT, said in a statement. “What reportedly happened to these two girls is unacceptable, and the district has a legal and moral obligation to take decisive action to prevent further harm.”
Memon has called on the school district to implement mandatory schoolwide anti-bullying training focused on racial and religious discrimination.
“This attack on Muslim students is unacceptable and reflects a broader pattern of bullying and discrimination that must be urgently addressed,” Memon said in a statement.
Officials said Friday that the Waterbury Department of Education recognized the attack as bullying, has taken disciplinary action and implemented enhanced school safety measures.
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