By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Texas woman has been formally indicted by a grand jury in the attempted drowning of a 3-year-old Palestinian American Muslim girl in a May incident that local police said was motivated by racial bias.
The suspect, identified as Elizabeth Wolf, aged 42, was charged by a Tarrant County grand jury in an indictment filed last month that included a hate crime enhancement, according to court records that came to light on Tuesday. The enhancement may raise the severity of Wolf’s sentence if she is found guilty.
Wolf, whose representative could not immediately be reached for comment, was charged with attempted capital murder of a person under 10 years of age and intentionally causing bodily injury to a child.
According to a police report, the incident in May occurred at an apartment complex swimming pool in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Euless, when the suspect argued with the mother of the 3-year-old girl, who was also at the pool with her 6-year-old son, and asked where they were from.
The suspect tried to drown the 3-year-old and attempted to grab the 6-year-old boy, the police report said.
The mother was able to pull her daughter from the water, police said, and local medics responded to the scene and the children were medically cleared.
Human rights advocates have warned about rising threats against American Muslims, Arabs and Jews since the eruption of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Other recent alarming U.S. incidents include the October fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in Illinois, the February stabbing of a Palestinian American man in Texas and the November shooting of three Palestinian American students in Vermont.
A former Cornell University student was sentenced in August to 21 months in prison for posting online threats against Jews, and a Jordanian citizen in Florida was charged over threats against businesses over perceived support of Israel.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese)
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