Muslim civil rights and advocacy group also calls on school district to release footage of attack that hospitalized Muslim girl
The North Carolina office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-North Carolina) today joined Charlotte activists in calling on the Mecklenburg County District Attorney to reopen a hate crimes investigation into a football player who allegedly brutally attacked a female Muslim student after local police claimed there was “no evidence” to support a hate crime, despite never interviewing the victim.
According to the victim’s family, she had complained to the school about the perpetrator bullying her and making anti-Muslim remarks before he hospitalized her on March 7th.
CAIR has been closely monitoring the case since last month and is in direct communication with the victim’s family. According to the family, both students were suspended after the violent assault, which the school has described as a “fight,” despite video footage the school has shown the victim’s father and brother that allegedly contradicts this claim.
On the day of the incident, March 7, the school showed the father and brother of the victim hallway security camera footage, which allegedly recorded the perpetrator pursuing the victim into the hall and attacking her as she attempted to flee. The school has not publicly released the footage.
SEE: Family of girl in Ardrey Kell incident continue push for hate crime charges
In a statement, CAIR-North Carolina said:
“We are deeply concerned by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s claim that there was ‘no evidence’ to support a hate crime charge related to this brutal attack despite the fact that investigators never interviewed the victim, who has alleged that the football player who hospitalized her had a history of anti-Muslim bullying. Her testimony would constitute evidence, so law enforcement’s claim that there was no evidence is blatantly false. The police department’s insufficient and incompetent investigation cannot stand.
“We call on the Mecklenburg County District Attorney to thoroughly and independently investigate this alleged brutal attack on a defenseless Muslim girl at her school. There is no excuse for the brutal nature of the attack on this student, and hate must be thoroughly investigated as a potential motive for the extent of this brutality.”
“We also call on the school district to immediately release any and all footage of the attack, including hallway footage which allegedly shows the perpetrator pursuing and attacking the victim as she attempted to flee outside of her classroom. The school must not conceal footage which may show that its description of the incident as a fight to be untrue. The school must release this video footage, cooperate with law enforcement, and desist in its suppression of evidence in order to protect their own reputation.”
BACKGROUND FROM THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
“The family of an Ardrey Kell High School student allegedly assaulted for wearing a hijab says they are “very likely” to sue Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. The family of the 15-year-old student, whose name has not been disclosed, said she was punched repeatedly in math class Friday by a football player at the school after days of anti-Muslim bullying. The girl was later transported to the hospital for treatment for her injuries, including “multiple broken bones in her face, her jaw,” Jibril Hough, a leader and advocate with the Islamic Center of Charlotte, said at a press conference Wednesday.
“The girl said the male student called her racial slurs and told her to “go back to (her) country,” Hough said. The family wants the incident to be investigated as a hate crime. “The young man who happened to be an Ardrey Kell football player seemed to have plenty of hate and be filled with intent,” Hough said. “He called our sister the b-word, the n-word, and told her to go back to her country…This is her own country. She was born and raised here.”
“[Later,] Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department investigators looking into whether an assault on a Muslim student at Ardrey Kell High School qualified as a hate crime did not interview the girl as part of that review, a family spokesperson said Thursday. CMPD announced Wednesday that no hate crime occurred.
SEE: Family of CMS student allegedly assaulted for being Muslim accuses district of ‘negligence’
SEE: CMPD didn’t speak with assaulted Muslim student during hate crime review, family says
Last month, CAIR released its 2025 Civil Rights Report “Unconstitutional Crackdowns,” which reveals that Islamophobia continues to be at an all-time high across the country. CAIR said viewpoint discrimination against those speaking out against genocide and apartheid was a key factor in many cases.
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CONTACT: CAIR Research and Advocacy Director Corey Saylor, 202-384-8857, csaylor@cair.com; CAIR Research and Advocacy Manager Farah Afify, fafify@cair.com@cair.com; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com