A Texas woman was arrested after allegedly trying to drown a 3-year-old Palestinian Muslim child in an apartment complex swimming pool last month after questioning the child’s mother about her country of origin, according to authorities.
Police responded to the pool at the apartment complex in Euless on May 19 at approximately 5:44 p.m. regarding “a disturbance between two females,” according to a news release from the Euless Police Department.
“Upon arrival, officers were informed by witnesses that a woman who was very intoxicated had attempted to drown a child and had argued with the child’s mother,” police said.
The child’s 32-year-old mother told police that the alleged attacker, Elizabeth Wolf, 42, questioned where she was from and made statements about her not being American, as well as “other racial statements.”
According to a press release from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the mother appeared to be visibly Muslim as she wore a hijab and modest swimwear to the pool at the time of the incident.
Police said Wolf also asked the mother if two of the children in the pool were hers before allegedly trying to grab one of them, a 6-year-old boy, who managed to escape.
“The mother began to help her son when Wolf grabbed her 3-year-old daughter and forced her to dive,” police said. “The mother managed to pull her daughter out of the water. Her daughter was screaming for help and coughing up water.”
Wolf also allegedly snatched the mother’s scarf as she tried to save her daughter and beat her with it, according to CAIR.
Both children were evaluated at the scene and “medically cleared,” according to the police department.
Wolf was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication as she attempted to leave the scene. She was charged with attempted capital murder and bodily injury to a child. Police do not believe Wolf and the victim’s mother knew each other before the May 19 incident.
The mother, identified by CAIR as “Ms. H.,” said her daughter is traumatized by the incident and hides whenever she opens the apartment door in fear that Wolf will “come back and dunk his head in the water again.”
“We are American citizens, originally from Palestine, and I don’t know where to go to feel safe with my children,” she told CAIR. “My country faces war and we face this hatred here.”
CAIR’s Texas chapter is calling on federal and state authorities to investigate the incident as a hate crime. The Euless Police Department recommended that the incident be considered a hate crime and the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office is currently investigating the case, a police spokesperson told NBC News.
“We are seeing a new level of intolerance here, where a person deeply believes that they can decide, based on religion, language spoken and country of origin, which children deserve to stay alive and which do not,” said Shaimaa Zayan of CAIR in Austin. Operations manager.
In April, CAIR reported that it had received 8,061 complaints nationwide last year from Muslims who reported experiencing discrimination or hate incidents. It is the highest number the group has ever achieved at any time in its 30-year history, including after 9/11. The council also reported receiving 3,578 complaints during the last three months of 2023.
State Rep. Salman Bhojani, a Democrat who represents the area in the Texas House, said he was “shocked and horrified” by the alleged racist incident.
“Hate has no place in Euless, District 92, or anywhere in our great state,” Bhojani said.
It’s unclear if Wolf has an attorney at this time.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
