Connecticut girl charged with hate crime against Muslim students

A 12-year-old student in Connecticut faces hate crime charges after an attack on two Muslim girls at her middle school. The incident occurred at Wallace Middle School in Waterbury on March 3, where the girls, who are 13-year-old twins from Egypt, were reportedly beaten and had their hijabs ripped off. During the fight, one girl was allegedly punched in the face, resulting in bruising and a bloody nose. The other twin suffered scrapes on her neck that caused bruising. The local Council of American-Islamic Relations reported that the injuries were serious enough to require hospital treatment, which was not noted in the initial incident report. Officials from the Waterbury State's Attorney Office said the altercation was motivated by religion and/or ethnicity, meeting the legal definition of a hate crime. The 12-year-old and another student involved have faced consequences in school, and enhanced safety measures have been put in place. The Waterbury community and school leaders have labeled the incident as isolated. Mayor Paul Pernerewski assured the public that the students responsible would face appropriate disciplinary and legal action. However, Farhan Memon of the Council of American-Islamic Relations disagrees, stating other Muslim students have also faced harassment and that the two victims felt unsafe returning to school.