By Jerald Jimenez
05 Nov 2023, 11:48 AM EST
An Arab Muslim student was hit by a car in what is believed to be a hate crime around Stanford University in California.
The incident reportedly occurred on Friday afternoon, when the student was walking on campus and was hit by a driver who stared at him, accelerated, and then drove away shouting, “Fuck you!
The student, whose identity has not been released, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to the university’s public safety department.
The preliminary investigation by the California Highway Patrol determined the incident was a hate crime, according to a statement Saturday from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, which is leading the investigation.
The suspect remains at large and is described as a white man in his 20s, with short dirty blonde hair and a short beard, wearing a gray shirt and round-framed glasses, CNN reported.
The vehicle involved is a 2015 black Toyota 4Runner or possibly a newer model. Public safety authorities encouraged anyone with information about the incident to come forward.
This is not the only case of potentially hate-motivated violence on the Stanford campus since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
At least five possible incidents of hate crimes are being investigated, including anti-Semitic graffiti, vandalism against a mosque and threats against Jewish and Muslim students, according to the university’s public safety department.
The university community has expressed its rejection and concern about these acts of intolerance and discrimination. Stanford President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez condemned the hit-and-run in a campus statement Friday.
“We are deeply disturbed to hear this report of potentially hate-based physical violence on our campus,” the statement said. “Violence on our campus is unacceptable. Violence based on hate is morally reprehensible.”
The San Francisco Bay Area Council on American-Islamic Relations also issued a statement Saturday calling the incident “horrible” and “underscoring the urgent need to address the growing Islamophobia and hatred that has been plaguing our communities.”