A Muslim student at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) claimed she was attacked in the early evening in a public place and that her assailant attempted to remove her hijab.
But after reviewing footage of the public place during the time the assault allegedly happened, police saw no evidence of any attack taking place. When police attempted to speak to the student further about the incident, she stopped cooperating, leading some to believe the accusation was yet another hate crime hoax.
The College Fix reported that UMBC has stopped the investigation “pending further investigative leads.”
“It’s our policy to send alerts to the campus when hate-bias incidents are reported,” University spokesperson Dinah Winnick told the outlet on Monday, referring to a campus alert that was sent earlier this month regarding the alleged incident. “UMBC Police evaluate the need for any updates based on the investigation.”
A hate and bias investigation report obtained by the Fix labeled the incident “inconclusive.” This and other evidence led the Fix to report that there is “a strong possibility of a hoax.”
A November 17 crime alert sent to the campus community said an unnamed Muslim student claimed she had been physically assaulted by “an unknown male [who] attempted to remove her hijab.” The incident reportedly happened on November 16 in The Commons between 5 p.m. and 6:52 p.m. – when UMBC sent out the alert. Police reviewed surveillance footage of The Commons during that time period but saw nothing.
“Detective Smith and I reviewed the camera footage of the area where this incident was reported to have happened,” campus officer Bruce Perry wrote in his police report, according to the Fix. “We watched from 5 pm up until the point it was reported to the Commons information desk. We did not [redacted] on the footage during that time.”
Perry also said in the report that he contacted the accuser and “asked her if [she] wanted to come in [and] give a statement about what happened. She indicated that she would come in and provide a statement if there is video of the incident.”
The accuser never accepted the offer to be officially interview and since there was no other information or evidence, UMBC suspended the investigation.
“Due to [redacted] not responding to my email for further information about the incident and no other viable leads, this case is be [sic] suspended,” Perry wrote.
The story comes after the Fix reported another female Muslim student – this time a Virginia high school student – admitted to making up an alleged hate crime.
A woman claimed that Ekran Mohamed was attacked after the alleged victim accidentally bumped into a male student.
“Mohamed said the male student’s friends told him she said he was ‘ugly and little,’” the woman, allegedly Ekran’s cousin, claimed. “Following that, the male student tried to grab Mohamed’s hijab from the back, she said. She turned around and grabbed his hair, and punched him in the stomach. Mohamed said that the male student then threw her into a desk, resulting in bruising to the left side of her body.”
The incident turned out to be a hoax, according to a Fairfax Police Department press release. No hate crime occurred, it was just a normal high school altercation.
“The police investigation determined the physical altercation between two Fairfax High School students was not a hate crime. The investigation revealed there were no racial comments made by either student,” the press release said. “The female student confirmed her hijab became partially undone during the altercation, exposing her hair. The female student advised that the information posted on several social media websites, stating that racial comments were used during the altercation were false.”