Muslim college student hurt in possible hit-and-run hate crime
An Arab Muslim student at Stanford University was injured in a hit-and-run incident Friday that is being investigated as a potential hate crime, university officials say.
The student sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was receiving medical care, according to an alert Friday from the school’s Department of Public Safety.
The alert said that “based on the circumstances reported by the victim,” the California Highway Patrol was investigating the incident as a potential hate crime.
“The victim reported that the driver made eye contact with the victim, accelerated and struck the victim, and then drove away while shouting ‘f--- you people.’ The victim is an Arab Muslim student at Stanford,” the official community advisory read.
“Stanford is continuing to work to provide a safe and secure campus environment in the context of heightened tensions related to the events in Israel and Gaza. This includes additional security that has been deployed at key locations on campus,” the advisory added.
A subsequent community advisory was issued Saturday to provide more details about the potential perpetrator. Police encouraged those with information to contact law enforcement.
Stanford’s president, Richard Saller, and its provost, Jenny Martinez, issued a Friday statement condemning the incident.
“We are profoundly disturbed to hear this report of potentially hate-based physical violence on our campus. Violence on our campus is unacceptable,” Saller and Martinez wrote. “Hate-based violence is morally reprehensible, and we condemn it in the strongest terms. We want to express our deep concern for the student who was injured, and for all affected by this incident.”
They said the investigation was ongoing and said they “understand the fear that this incident has caused.”
The incident comes against the backdrop of the war between Hamas and Israel. Anti-Muslim and antisemitic attacks have seen an uptick since the war began Oct. 7.