Muslim schoolgirl, 14, terrified to leave home after woman ‘strangled her with her hijab’ as pals sobbed
A TERRIFIED schoolgirl says she is too scared to leave her own house after a horrific attack last week.
Redana Al-Hadi, 14, says she was strangled with her own hijab while a woman shouted racial slurs at her – horrific footage from the ordeal shows the almost unconscious teen being repeatedly hit in the face by a woman in a red coat.
South Yorkshire police confirmed today that Redana’s attacker, a 40-year-old-woman was released with a caution for assault.
The Mirror reports her family are “furious” that the attacker “has been allowed to walk free.”
‘SHE STARTED SMASHING MY HEAD’
But brave Redana has today spoken out about the horrific attack that traumatised herself and her younger sister on December 4, as they travelled home from school by bus.
An argument broke out after an older man had screamed a racial slur at the group of schoolgirls, including Redana and her 13-year-old-sister.
A youngster piped up and said: “Don’t call her that, we’re black.”
Another woman, who Redana says was her attacker, then stood up and began to fight with the man.
But to their horror he grabbed one of the schoolchildren on the bus – with the woman quickly turning her attention towards Redana and firing racial slurs in her direction, she alleges.
She said: “[The woman] threw herself at me and dragged me out the bus, and as she dragged me to the floor she strangled me with my hijab and then my little sister tried to stop it.
‘I FEEL TARGETED’
“The man grabbed my sister by her waist and threw her into oncoming traffic.
“[The woman then] kicked me in my neck and knocked me out with her fist and started smashing my head and stamping on me while my arm was over my face.
“I thought I broke my arm – my face is all swollen and it’s a mess.”
Brave Redana continued: “I feel targeted because I’m a Muslim girl and I’ve not gone back to school because I’m too scared to go back on the bus or to leave my house.
“I’m scared of adults harassing me and I already had bad eyesight, I wear glasses, and the eye she damaged is my good eye.”
The girls’ mum, 51-year-old Racheda says she “just didn’t know what to do” when she received a horrific phone-call from her youngest daughter screaming: “Mum she’s killing my sister, she’s attacking Redana and attacking us!”
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Terrified Racheda rushed to the scene and was met with chaos, 14-year-old Redana was rushed to hospital where she was treated for an eye injury.
Cops say the woman was arrested at the scene but has since been released with a caution – the man, an unnamed 44-year-old remains in custody.
The solicitor representing the family, Arshaid Bashir said: “Public duty requires the perpetrator to be prosecuted,” adding that it was a “racially aggravated assault.”
