San Diego Police confirmed Wednesday they are investigating an assault on a pregnant Muslim woman the same night as the terror attacks in Paris.
The woman was wearing a traditional Muslim head scarf and pushing her child in a stroller in Mission Valley Friday when a man started making racially charged threats to her, according to Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Executive Director Hanif Mohebi.
The suspect then pushed the stroller toward her, which Mohebi said constitutes an assault.
The victim, who called police and then CAIR, told them she knew the suspect and he had harassed her before.
“It's really sad but it's something that we are going to come out of strong,” Mohebi said.
The woman suffered more emotional than physical pain, according to the CAIR director.
According to Mohebi, threats against Muslims in San Diego are up significantly. This year, there have been 170 reports of threats locally, 45 of which were hate mail. Some were directed at his organization.
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La Mesa resident John Weissinger pleaded guilty to crimes involving threatening calls to CAIR last January. He could get up to five years in prison at his sentencing, scheduled for next week.
Mohebi told NBC 7 when terrorists attack, Muslim Americans suffer twice. They share the outrage with the rest of the world and then get the blame.
“This kind of misunderstanding and labeling essentially might harm us more than anyone else. It's dividing our community and not helping us in any way, shape or form,” the executive director said.
Thursday at 10:30 a.m., CAIR will join other interfaith leaders in San Diego at a press conference condemning terrorism and the backlash it brings to the community.
