Somali Woman in US Beaten Unconscious by White Man While Trying to Help Another Muslim Woman

By teleSUR

05 June 17

Groups supporting the victim have slammed the attack as a hate crime and have demanded a police investigation.

Somali woman was brutally beaten by a white man after she intervened when he was harassing another Muslim woman Saturday night, according to the Columbus chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations.

Rahma Warsame, a single mother, was beaten unconscious by the man, who yelled, “You will be all shipped back to Africa!” before brutally assaulting her. She was left with “four missing teeth, a badly swollen face, busted lips and a swollen nose,” according to the description in the crowdfunding campaign that was launched to support her.

According to an update by CAIR, the attacker was interviewed by police, but released without charge.

CAIR-Columbus held a press conference Sunday, where they denounced the attack as a hate crime and demanded an investigation by the Columbus Police Department.

The attack comes just days after two men were murdered, and another injured in Portland, Oregon, by a white supremacist, after the three intervened in his verbal assault of two young women on a train, one Muslim.

“The fact that the perpetrator was not taken into custody and was not charged raises serious concerns and sends a very dangerous message,” said Jennifer Nimer, executive director of CAIR-Columbus and one of the attorneys for the victim, reported Carbonated TV.

“After what happened last week in Portland, police across the country should be sending a strong message that hate crimes will not be tolerated. We are asking law enforcement to investigate this as a hate crime and to bring the perpetrator to justice immediately before he commits another act of violence.”

The activist organization Yes We Can Columbus issued a similar statement against the attack.

“There is no place for hatred or bigotry in Columbus, and we firmly denounce this disgusting attack,” the group stated. “Yes We Can Columbus calls for an investigation into this incident and for the attacker to be brought to justice … If we claim to be an Opportunity City, then we must also be a safe city for all.”

The victim's “traumatized” 12-year-old son, according to the crowdfunding campaign description, is staying with relatives while Warsame recovers from her injuries in the hospital where she works.