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New York (CNN) -- A taxi driver is in stable condition Wednesday after allegedly being stabbed by a passenger who apparently asked if he was Muslim before attacking him, a taxi driver union official told CNN.
Police have identified the suspect as Michael Enright, a 21-year-old white male. New York Police Det. Mark Nell said Enright has been charged with four counts, including attempted murder and hate crimes charges, and he's expected to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon.
Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, said the cabbie who was attacked is Ahmed H. Sharif, 43, a practicing Muslim.
When he first got into the taxi Tuesday night, Desai said, Enright engaged in cordial conversation with Sharif.
He "started out friendly, asking Mr. Sharif about where he was from, how long he had been in America, if he was Muslim and if he was observing fast during Ramadan," said Desai, who has spoken with the cab driver.
Then, after a few minutes of silence, Desai said Enright started violently cursing at Sharif and shouted "Assalamu Alaikum, consider this a checkpoint," before slashing him in the throat, arms, and hand.
( Read the rest on CNN.com )
Ab-solutely horrible! On the one hand I'm not surprised, and on the other I'm surprised something like this hasn't happend sooner. But, omigosh! How wrong. It reminds me of the days just after 9/11 when the Muslim girls at my school and Sikh guys were afraid to go around campus alone, even though my school had a very, very diverse population. I personally don't agree with the building location for the Islamic center in NYC--just seems like a bad idea considering the significance of the area, but the new building (whether or not it goes up) and the 9/11 attacks are in no way, shape, or form reasons to attack random folks on the streets, in their cars, or at their jobs.
Police have identified the suspect as Michael Enright, a 21-year-old white male. New York Police Det. Mark Nell said Enright has been charged with four counts, including attempted murder and hate crimes charges, and he's expected to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon.
Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, said the cabbie who was attacked is Ahmed H. Sharif, 43, a practicing Muslim.
When he first got into the taxi Tuesday night, Desai said, Enright engaged in cordial conversation with Sharif.
He "started out friendly, asking Mr. Sharif about where he was from, how long he had been in America, if he was Muslim and if he was observing fast during Ramadan," said Desai, who has spoken with the cab driver.
Then, after a few minutes of silence, Desai said Enright started violently cursing at Sharif and shouted "Assalamu Alaikum, consider this a checkpoint," before slashing him in the throat, arms, and hand.
( Read the rest on CNN.com )
Ab-solutely horrible! On the one hand I'm not surprised, and on the other I'm surprised something like this hasn't happend sooner. But, omigosh! How wrong. It reminds me of the days just after 9/11 when the Muslim girls at my school and Sikh guys were afraid to go around campus alone, even though my school had a very, very diverse population. I personally don't agree with the building location for the Islamic center in NYC--just seems like a bad idea considering the significance of the area, but the new building (whether or not it goes up) and the 9/11 attacks are in no way, shape, or form reasons to attack random folks on the streets, in their cars, or at their jobs.
