A shocking incident in Euless, Texas has left the community reeling. A 42-year-old woman, Elizabeth Wolf, has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly trying to drown a three-year-old Palestinian girl at a local swimming pool.
The incident, which occurred on May 19, has drawn attention from civil rights groups, who describe it as racially motivated.
According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Texas), the accused attacked the young girl while she was swimming with her family at their apartment complex pool. The child’s mother, Mrs. H, who wears a hijab and modest swimwear, was supervising her children in the shallow end when Wolf reportedly approached her with racist remarks.
Wolf then allegedly grabbed the children and pulled them to the deep end of the pool in an attempt to drown them. Mrs. H bravely jumped in to rescue her children, and Wolf responded by ripping off her headscarf.
Local Euless police swiftly arrived at the scene and arrested Wolf, charging her with public intoxication. However, the incident has left a lasting impact on the traumatised family. Mrs. H expressed her fear, saying, “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.”
Texas House of Representatives member Salman Bhojani, representing Euless, condemned the incident, stating, “I’m shocked and appalled by this alleged racist, Islamophobic occurrence that took place in my town. Hate has no place in Euless, District 92, or anywhere in our great state.”
The attack occurred against the backdrop of Israel’s ongoing conflict with Gaza, where thousands of Palestinians have lost their lives. In late November, three Palestinian men were shot near a university campus in Vermont, and one month earlier, a 71-year-old man in Illinois was charged with murder and a hate crime for stabbing a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy to death.
CAIR, which received 3,578 complaints of bias and discrimination in the last three months of last year, continues to advocate for justice and awareness in the face of such incidents.
As the community grapples with the aftermath of this disturbing event, many are calling for unity, understanding, and a commitment to combating hate in all its forms.
