At least five possible hate crime incidents at Stanford University since the Israel-Hamas war’s onset are under investigation, including an apparent hit-and-run crash involving an Arab Muslim student, according to the university’s public safety department.
The student was struck by a car Friday afternoon, authorities said.
“The victim reported that the driver made eye contact with the victim, accelerated and struck the victim, and then drove away while shouting, ‘f*** you people,’” according to a news release from the Stanford Department of Public Safety.
A preliminary investigation by the California Highway Patrol determined the incident was a hate crime, according to a statement Saturday from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, which is leading the investigation. At least five possible
The victim’s injuries were not life-threatening, the university said.
The victim described the driver as “a white male in his mid-20s, with short dirty-blond hair and a short beard, wearing a gray shirt and round framed eyeglasses,” according to an alert published on Stanford’s website Saturday.
The student also described the vehicle involved as a 2015 black Toyota 4Runner “or possibly a newer model,” according to the alert.
The series of recent hate crime incidents at Stanford University initiated on October 15, when a group of students identifying as “Arab, Muslim, and/or Palestinian” reported an incident in which they were physically pushed by another student. This altercation occurred when they were attempting to add or remove posters from a designated area on campus, as documented on the university’s Protected Identity Harm reporting site.