Quite a scary incident is being reported in North Carolina.
A Muslim American woman wearing a hijab was sitting outside an Indian grocery store with her baby when a man pulled up and wielded a rifle, reports hi INDiA.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) which is assisting the woman says she was sitting in the parking lot of India Grocers in Charlotte, nursing her infant when the incident happened. The woman reported a “menacing look” in the armed man’s face – a white male in his 40s or 50s in a red pick-up truck. Following the incident, she ran into the store and asked the owner to call police. The man had disappeared by the time police arrived at the scene.
“North Carolina has an ethnic intimidation law and I think that would be appropriate in this situation,” said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for CAIR. CAIR has requested a full investigation, believing that the mother was threatened on the basis of her faith and ethnicity.
“I mean she is distressed, she is a mother and she is worrying about her young babies,” said Mujtaba Mohammed, the woman’s attorney, who believes this should be investigated as a hate crime. “This victim can’t even go to the grocery store without having to look over her shoulder.”
The mother fearing a backlash has asked not to be identified. The incident is already having a chilling affect on others in the area.
“It is very scary and I am nervous now. I just have to be very careful,” said Nidhi Mathur to the Charlotte Observer. “It is just really sad, I mean first we are humans and it does not matter what race we belong. What is happening is really not fair.”
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