AUSTIN, Texas — Advocates are calling on authorities to investigate an alleged attack on a Muslim University of Texas at Austin student and his friend as a possible hate crime.
According to the police report, the alleged attack happened on Guadalupe Street in West Campus late Friday night while the student was wearing clothing from the South Asian Muslim community. He was walking back to campus with a friend after praying at a local mosque.
The Austin Police Department (APD) is currently investigating this case. According to online police records, officers were called to 2021 Guadalupe St. around 11 p.m.
The students say three men approached them, yelling racist phrases, and then assaulted them. They reported the incident to CAIR Austin, which is the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.
CAIR wants law enforcement to investigate this as a possible hate crime.
"It's just not affecting only these two victims – it's just affecting the whole Muslim community and the whole, diverse student body in the Austin campus," Shaimaa Zayan, CAIR Austin's operations manager, said.
In a statement, a UT spokesperson said: "UT remains committed to the safety and well-being of every member of our university community and has no tolerance for violence or other hateful actions against any of our community members, including those in our Muslim, Palestinian and Arab communities."
APD said it has added extra patrols in that area after a different attack near campus. In February, police say Bert Baker attacked a group of people after a Palestine rally downtown, stabbing one of them. The Travis County District Attorney's Office will decide if Baker will face enhanced charges.