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Staten Island Man Accused Of Beating Muslim Teen With Bat While Shouting Anti-Immigrant Slurs
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Aug 20, 2020
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Courtesy of CAIR
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Aug 20, 2020
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A Staten Island man was arrested last week for allegedly assaulting a Muslim teenager with a baseball bat, while calling the victim a racial epithet and telling him to "go back to your country."
Tarek Elsayed, an 18-year-old Egyptian-American, said he was driving near his home on Dartmouth Loop on Thursday night when the attacker approached his car, slashed the tires, and called him a "sand n---er." As Elsayed got out to assess the damage, the man allegedly struck him in the head with a baseball bat.
A crowd soon gathered, as the man continued to berate Elsayed, threatening to kill him and his friends, and vowing that he would have "my people to take care of you," according to attorneys representing the victim.
A spokesperson for the NYPD said that Emilio Lopez, 41, was taken into custody on Dartmouth Loop for striking a man with a baseball bat, causing swelling and bleeding to his head and arms. Lopez was charged with felony assault, criminal weapons possession, and harassment.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) denounced the attack on Wednesday, and demanded that the NYPD open a hate crime investigation into the incident.
"It's really astonishing that with all of these racially charged and anti-immigrant comments, that wouldn't generate a hate crime investigation," CAIR-NY Legal Director Ahmed Mohamed told Gothamist. "What do Muslims have to face for the NYPD to consider something a hate crime?"
The group noted that they are still waiting on the department to open a hate crime into last week's assault on a teenager wearing a hijab, who was allegedly hit with a bottle of urine and called Islamophobic slurs.
Mohamed said he had confirmed Elsayed's account with multiple witnesses. Both Lopez and Elsayed reside on the same block in Staten Island and had a previous traffic dispute earlier in the summer, the attorney added. During that incident, Lopez allegedly called Elsayed a slur and warned him: "Wait 'til I see you again."
Lopez was released on bail. His next hearing is scheduled for December.
Mohamed said he wanted to see the police take a more proactive approach to ensuring the man doesn't further harass Elsayed or any of his Muslim friends.
"We're interested in hearing from the NYPD on what are they planning to do to make sure this person doesn't follow through on his threats," Mohamed said. "He said he was going to 'get my people to take care of you.' To us, that's a direct threat."
Tagged
staten island
hate crime
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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