A woman in Texas has been charged with attempted murder after she tried to drown a three-year-old Palestinian American child in a swimming pool. Taking notice of the incident, President Joe Biden has stated that he is "deeply disturbed" by the reports of the violent attack.
Taking to X, the US President added - "No child should ever be subjected to a violent attack, and my heart goes out to the family."
Woman Tries To Drown 3-Year-Old Child
As per reports, the incident took place on May 19. The accused - Elizabeth Wolf (42) has been charged with attempted murder and injury to a child after she tried to drown a three-year-old toddler in the swimming pool of their apartment complex in Texas.
The 42-year-old woman was initially arrested on charge of public intoxication and was allowed to post bail for herself a day after her arrest.
Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the woman tried to drown the child.
Following the incident, the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations have called for a thorough investigation into the incident involving hate-motivated attempted murder of two children.
As per CAIR, the mother, a Muslim was in the shallow-end of the swimming pool with her children - 3-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son when the accused also joined them.
The mother, who was wearing a hijab at the time was approached by Wolf, who then started to hurl racist comments at the Palestinian-American family.
The 42-year-old then asked the mother where she was from and asked if the children were hers. After this, Wolf jumped into the pool and pulled her children towards the deep end and tried to drown them.
Wolf first went for her six-year-old son, but he managed to pull away from her grasp.
"The mother began helping her son when Wolf grabbed her 3-year-old daughter and forced her underwater. The mother was able to pull her daughter from the water. Her daughter had been yelling for help and was coughing up water," reads the official statement issued by the Euless police.
The mother also told CAIR that when she jumped in to save her three-year-old daughter, Wolf grabbed her hijab and took it off and then proceeded to beat and kick her, all while holding her daughter's head underwater.
A man was witness to the incident and jumped in the save the mother and child. Police and witnessed added that as Wolf was being arrested she screamed - Tell her I will kill her, and I will kill her whole family".
The mother, identified as Mrs H, stated that she and her family are American citizens but hail from Palestine. Following the attack against her and her children, she added that she no longer feels safe.
"We are American citizens, originally from Palestine, and I don’t know where to go to feel safe with my kids. My country is facing a war, and we are facing that hate here,” the mother added.
Hate Crime On The Rise
The war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas have sparked an increased in Islamaphobia and antisemitism across the globe.
A few months into the Israel-Gaza war, the ripples of the conflict reached the US after a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy was killed by his landlord.
In October 2023, 71-year-old Joseph M. Czuba was accused of stabbing a six-year-old Palestinian American boy in Illinois. Czuba had attacked the mother - Hanaan Shahin and the child and stabbed them multiple times. Shahin survived the attack but her son did not.
The killing was also condemned by Joe Biden and first lady Dr Jill Biden.
“The child’s Palestinian Muslim family came to America seeking what we all seek — a refuge to live, learn, and pray in peace.This horrific act of hate has no place in America," stated Biden.
