UPDATE NOVEMBER 10. 2023:
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office has released a sketch of a suspect sought in the hit-and-run of an Arab Muslim Stanford student on November 3. A photo of the type of vehicle the suspect was driving has also been released by authorities.
The victim described the suspect as an unshaven, White male-adult, in his mid20s. The suspect wore a grey top and prescription glasses. His vehicle was described as a black Toyota SUV with a tire mounted on the rear of the vehicle. The Toyota SUV should have front passenger side bumper damage from the collision.
The victim, a Stanford student of Syrian decent, was struck by a vehicle as he crossed the intersection of Campus Drive and Ayrshire Farm Lane, located on the Stanford University Campus.
ORIGINAL NOVEMBER 6, 2023, ARTICLE:
An Arab Muslim student was struck in a hit-and-run that happened on Stanford University’s campus on Friday afternoon. The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident as a hate crime.
According to a statement from the Stanford Department of Public Safety, the driver of the vehicle involved in the incident is reported to have made eye contact with the victim, accelerated and struck the victim, and then driven away while shouting “f*** you and your people” out the lowered window of the vehicle.
The driver was described by the victim as a White male in his mid-twenties, with short dirty-blond hair and a short beard, wearing a gray shirt and round framed eyeglasses. He is believed to have been driving a black Toyota 4Runner.
The victim’s injuries were not life-threatening.
Stanford University President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez denounced the hit-and-run attack in a letter, reports ABC News.
Friday’s incident is just the latest hate crime that has been reported at Stanford since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, reports CNN. Since the beginning of the conflict, there have been five reported incidents.
On October 15, a group of students identifying as Arab, Muslim, and/or Palestinian reported that they were shoved by a fellow student when they tried to add and remove posters on campus. The following day, a student of color sitting near a Palestinian liberation display was spat at by another student, while the attacker said “disgusting.” On October 18, a tote bag that was decorated with the shape of Palestine on it and containing a computer and other valuables was run over.
CNN also reports that on October 28, a sacred religious symbol on the door of a Jewish student was removed.
Other universities are also reporting an increase in hate crimes.
At Millersville University, a 20-year-old many drew two swastikas on an elevator and sidewalk, reports USA Today. At the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill campus, social media posts were shared that discussed the possible October 31 assault of a Muslim student.
Also in late October, vicious antisemitic posts at Cornell University prompted the school to advise its students to avoid the kosher dining hall on campus. Patrick Dai, 21, a junior at Cornell, has been arrested and charged with posting the threats.
