Police investigating attack on Muslim student at suburban Chicago middle school

Police in suburban Glendale Heights are investigating an incident in which a Muslim student wearing a hijab was attacked by another student at Glenside Middle School.

Queen Bee School District 16 Supt. Joseph Williams confirmed that a student had been attacked by another student Thursday at Glenside Middle School, 1560 Bloomingdale Road, while others stood and recorded the incident.

A video of the alleged attack that was posted on social media showed a girl being put into a headlock by a boy before being shoved to the ground.

The girl is from Saudi Arabia and has only been in the U.S. for two months, according to CAIR-Chicago, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.

The school contacted the Glendale Heights Police Department after the incident. The department has opened its own investigation, Williams said.

Williams also said there was no evidence the attack was motivated by racial, cultural or religious intolerance. However, CAIR-Chicago said the boy in question was allegedly involved in another bullying incident against another hijab-wearing student last year.

“We are taking steps to ensure that the students responsible for this incident are held fully accountable to the limit of all relevant laws,” Williams said in a statement.

CAIR-Chicago said it hoped the school district would make efforts to address the bullying culture at the school.

“Bullying involves more than the perpetrator,” said Maggie Slaving, CAIR-Chicago’s operations manager. “Bystanders who watch and accept, or even reward this behavior, make it possible for the bully to carry out their attack. In this case, we see bystander students reinforcing the terrible ambush, filming it, and even gloating about it on social media. This larger culture must be addressed.”

Police could not immediately be reached for comment.