Local and federal officials, including President Joseph Biden, responded to an alleged drowning attempt at an apartment complex pool in Euless, Texas, that occurred on May 19.
Elizabeth Wolf, 42, allegedly forced a 3-year-old Palestinian American girl into the deep end of the pool and unsuccessfully grabbed her 6-year-old brother after probing the children’s mother about her national origin, CBS News reported.
The mother said she and her family are U.S. citizens of Palestinian descent in a press release by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-Texas).
In the release, Salman Bhojani, a representative in the Texas House of Representatives and a Euless native, expressed gratitude for the Euless Police Department’s work and offered support to the alleged victims.
“I’m shocked and appalled by this alleged racist, Islamophobic occurrence that took place in my town,” Bhojani said. “Hate has no place in Euless, District 92, or anywhere in our great state.”
Reacting to a report on the incident by The New York Times, Biden condemned it on social media platform X.
“No child should ever be subjected to a violent attack, and my heart goes out to the family,” Biden wrote.
The Euless Police Department recently asked Tarrant County prosecutors to pursue the alleged drowning attempt as a hate crime, according to Texarkana Gazette. CAIR-Texas said it “welcomed” the department’s request in another press release.
A spokesperson said on behalf of the district attorney that the case was received and under review, Texarkana Gazette wrote.
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