Two teenagers charged in hate crime attack against Muslim man in the Bronx

The boys, 14 and 15, face charges over assault, harassment as a hate crime and acting in a manner injurious to a child

Two teenage boys were arrested on Friday and charged with assaulting a Muslim man in the Bronx last week while shouting “Isis! Isis!,” the police said.

The boys, 14 and 15, face a variety of charges, including assault as a hate crime, harassment as a hate crime and acting in a manner injurious to a child, the police said. At the time the victim was assaulted, his 9-year-old niece was with him.



On January 15, the boys punched the man, pushed him to the ground and kicked him, bruising his face and giving him a black eye, the police said.

Luis Sepúlveda, a state assemblyman from the Bronx, identified the victim as Mujibir Rahman.

Mr. Rahman was wearing a shalwar kameez at the time of the assault, and had just picked up his niece from school in the Parkchester neighborhood of the Bronx.



In a statement on Friday night, Mr. Sepúlveda, a Democrat, said that the girl was unhurt but that witnessing the attack had left her “emotionally traumatised.”

Mr. Sepúlveda said he was happy that an arrest had been made, but also disturbed at the ages of the alleged assailants.

“It’s a sad day in our society when teenagers attack people because of their religious belief,” he said in a statement. “I hope that their parents impress upon them the seriousness of what they did and that they demonstrate remorse.”

This article originally appeared on The New York Times, a partner of The Express Tribune.