HUNTINGTON STATION, NY — The Suffolk County Police Hate Crimes Unit arrested a Huntington Station teen after he punched another teen and made biased comments.
The victim was at the Walt Whitman Shops on May 29 when he was struck, police said.
He wears a turban and he was called “Mohamed” during the attack, according to the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
“We applaud the young boy’s and his family’s courage to speak out about this hate incident. Too often, our Sikh brothers and sisters are targeted in hate crimes and other forms of discrimination,” Afaf Nasher, executive director of CAIR-NY, said. “We are also disturbed that the young boy has been bullied at his school. His school must address this bullying and provide a safe learning environment for him and others. No one should be bullied or targeted due to their appearance or faith.’
Nasher called for teens to be taught more about diversity and inclusion.
“Too often we see schools engage in diversity and inclusion but fail to center the right voices and generally present the information in an insensitive or harmful manner,” Nasher said.
The teen, who was not identified due to also being 13 years of age, was arrested at the Second Precinct on June 3 at 9 p.m. and charged with second degree aggravated harassment, a Class A Misdemeanor and hate crime under New York State penal law. He will be arraigned at Suffolk County Family Court at a later date.
