FORT WORTH, Texas (NewsNation) — A hate crime investigation is being requested by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) after a Texas woman allegedly tried to drown two children in an apartment pool.
Police charged Elizabeth Wolf, 42, with attempted capital murder, injury to a child and public intoxication after the incident May 19 in Euless, located between Dallas and Fort Worth. Court records indicate she spent three days in jail before she made bail.
Witnesses and a Palestinian mother, who is Muslim and wears a hijab, reported that Wolf approached them, questioning where they were from and making racial statements.
During the incident, Wolf allegedly grabbed the woman’s 6-year-old son, who escaped and then grabbed the woman’s 3-year-old daughter forcing her underwater. The mother and a good Samaritan jumped in to save the child, during which Wolf reportedly tore off the mother’s headscarf, the mother said.
The mother’s name has not been released.
Whether Wolf will face hate crime charges is up to the district attorney. The Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of CAIR is advocating for state and federal authorities to investigate the incident as a hate crime.
DFW CAIR shared a statement from the mother with NewsNation: “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. My daughter is traumatized.”
CAIR reports receiving over 3,500 complaints since Israel launched its war in Gaza in response to a Hamas attack on Israel in October.
Wolf’s defense attorney did not respond to a request for comment.