The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate a reported shooting attack on a Muslim woman yesterday in Capitol Heights, Maryland, as a possible hate crime.
Washington, D.C., based CAIR also offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the alleged perpetrator.
Family members of the victim, who lives in Maryland and wears an Islamic face veil (niqab), say she was shot at four to five times by a man with a “light complexion” in another vehicle when she was leaving a parking lot after shopping yesterday afternoon. One round reportedly struck her hand and shrapnel hit her arm. She was treated and released from a local hospital. The alleged attacker has reportedly not been apprehended.
In a statement, CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry said:
“Because of the religious attire of the alleged victim, the growing racial and religious bigotry nationwide and recent acts of politically-motivated violence, we urge state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate a possible bias motive for this disturbing attack. We also call for the swift apprehension and prosecution of the alleged shooter. People of all faiths and backgrounds must be able to go about their daily business without fear of attack.”
She noted that earlier this year, CAIR released its 2025 Civil Rights Report, Unconstitutional Crackdowns, which reveals that Islamophobia remains at record-high levels nationwide. CAIR said viewpoint discrimination against those speaking out against genocide and apartheid was a key factor in many cases.
Chaudry added that CAIR encourages community members facing bias or hate incidents to report them to law enforcement and to CAIR.
Report an incident to CAIR: https://www.cair.com/report/
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CONTACT: CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, zchaudry@cair.com, 410-971-6062; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com