A 12-year-old Connecticut student who says police have assaulted two of their Muslim classmates, says he was charged with a hate crime in the attack.
Four seventh graders were caught up in an argument at Wallace Middle School in Waterbury, Connecticut earlier this month, causing two 13-year-old Muslim girls to be injured, police said.
Injured teens wear hijabs regularly, the Connecticut branch of the Council on America and Islamic Relations (CAIR-CT) said. Their relatives sought an investigation into the attack, claiming that teens could have been targeted for their religion, police said.
Waterbury police said in a statement Friday that authorities determined that “the argument is motivated by religion and/or ethnicity.”
The 12-year-old was charged with prejudice and prejudice threats in juvenile court in juvenile court, authorities said. The second student was referred to the Youth Transformation Program rather than being arrested, police said.
Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski said the attack on March 3 was an “isolated incident” and the interim superintendent of Waterbury Public Schools said the attack did not represent a major problem within the school.
“This was not part of a wide range of issues, but this is an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that students are safe and respectful of each other,” he said in a statement.
Cair-CT called the attack “unacceptable.”
“Schools must be a safe space for all students, regardless of religion or ethnicity,” Cair-CT Chairman Farhan Memon said in a statement. “What happened to these two girls reportedly is unacceptable. The district has a legal and moral obligation to take decisive action to prevent further harm.”
Memon urged school districts to provide forced school-wide bullying prevention training focusing on racial and religious discrimination.
“This attack on Muslim students is unacceptable and reflects a broader pattern of bullying and discrimination, which must be addressed urgently,” Memon said in a statement.
Authorities said Friday that the Waterbury Department of Education recognized the attack as bullying, and had undergone disciplinary action and implemented intensified school safety measures.
