WACO, Texas (ABP) — A 19-year-old Pakistani-American woman was attacked the night of April 1 as she walked through the Baylor University campus.
Baylor senior Nohayia Javed told police a white man in his mid-30s grabbed her head scarf and pulled her to the ground. The man, believed not to be a Baylor student, wore cowboy boots and had a strong Southern accent, Javed told officials. Reports say the man threatened to kill Javad as he kicked and hit her.
Javed suffered a torn muscle in her ribs and a torn rotator cuff in her shoulder as a result of the incident, in which the man also yelled ethnic slurs, according to Baylor's student paper, the Lariat.
As federal officials continue to investigate the attack, the Council on American-Islamic Relations has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. CAIR has also asked the assault be classified as a hate crime, although Baylor officials have hesitated to use the term until further evidence surfaces.
“We have had an FBI representative on campus with us throughout the day today and will continue to work with the agency as this process goes forward,” Baylor police chief Jim Doak said in an April 5 press release, according to the Lariat.
Other officials have said Baylor is using its “full resources” to investigate the case. The Waco police and Texas Rangers have also become involved in the case.
Dallas-based CAIR member Mustafaa Carroll told reporters he hopes the perpetrator is brought to justice, and he thanked Baylor officials for cooperating with the investigation.
“All we want is for cooler heads to prevail in this sad situation,” he said in a release.
More than 250 people from Baylor and the Waco area's two mosques attended an April 6 candlelight ceremony called, “Solidarity against hate.” The event was organized by student government leaders, the Associated Press reported.
Recovering at home in Broken Arrow, Okla., Javed did not attend the ceremony, but she told reporters she was “very, very honored and deeply touched” by the gathering.
-30-