Police in Columbus, Ohio, are investigating an incident that they say has “generated rumours and speculation throughout social media.”
An alleged brawl, involving at least two Somali-Americans and a white couple, is being labelled as a hate crime by Muslim activists and organizations. The couple involved says it was self-defence.
The incident left Rahma Warsame, a single mother of a 12-year-old boy, in hospital with missing teeth, ripped lips and facial fractures, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). In a press release, the advocacy organization went on to say that Warsame’s alleged attacker had yelled “you will be shipped back to Africa.”
Jennifer Nimer, CAIR’s executive director, said Warsame was trying to intervene to diffuse an argument between another Somali woman and a white man.
Columbus police, who found Warsame with injuries to her face sitting outside an apartment building, say no arrests have been made, although one man was briefly detained at the scene.
“Officers were unable to determine who the primary aggressor was in the incident,” police said in a Facebook post.
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According to the Columbus Dispatch, the incident began when a Hispanic woman got into an argument with a Somali woman who she says was hit a child. When the argument escalated, the Somali woman allegedly struck the other woman with a stun gun that she says she kept for protection, the newspaper reported. That’s when Warsame intervened and was allegedly beaten.
Police say there’s no evidence that the case should be treated as a hate crime — a move that Nimer criticized.
“After what happened last week in Portland, police across the country should be sending a strong message that hate crimes will not be tolerated,” Nimer said at a press conference, urging police to investigate the altercation as a hate crime.
Several members of the Muslim community have also banded together to support Warsame, raising more than $100,000 to pay her medical bills.