WASHINGTON: A Texas woman has been indicted by a grand jury for the attempted drowning of a 3-year-old Palestinian-American Muslim girl in an incident in May that local police say was racially motivated.
The suspect, identified as Elizabeth Wolf, 42, was indicted by a Tarrant County grand jury in an indictment returned last month that included a hate crime enhancement, according to court records unsealed Tuesday. The enhancement could increase the severity of Wolf's sentence if she is convicted.
Wolf, whose representative could not immediately be reached for comment, was charged with attempted capital murder of a person under 10 and intentionally causing bodily injury to a child.
According to a police report, the incident occurred in May at the pool of an apartment complex in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Euless, when the suspect argued with the mother of the 3-year-old girl, who was also in the pool with her 6-year-old son, and asked her where they were from.
The suspect attempted to choke the 3-year-old and attempted to grab the 6-year-old, according to the police report.
The mother was able to pull her daughter from the water, police said, and local medics responded to the scene and the children were released.
Human rights advocates have warned of increasing threats against Muslim, Arab and Jewish Americans since the outbreak of Israel's war on Gaza.
Other recent alarming incidents in the United States include the fatal stabbing in October of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy in Illinois, the stabbing in February of a Palestinian-American man in Texas, and the November shooting of three Palestinian-American students in Vermont.
In August, a former Cornell University student was sentenced to 21 months in prison for posting online threats against Jews, and a Jordanian citizen in Florida was charged with threatening businesses for their apparent support of Israel.
