WASHINGTON, USA: US President Joe Biden expressed his deep disturbance over reports of an alleged attempted drowning of a Palestinian-American child at a pool in Texas. Elizabeth Wolf, 42, has been charged with capital murder following the May incident that gained national attention over the weekend.
Wolf allegedly approached a mother wearing a hijab at a suburban apartment pool near Dallas, asking if the woman’s six-year-old son and three-year-old daughter were hers and making racial statements. She then reportedly grabbed the boy, who managed to escape, and pushed the girl underwater.
“No child should ever be subjected to a violent attack, and my heart goes out to the family,” Biden stated on X. “I am deeply disturbed by the reports of an attempted drowning of a 3-year-old Palestinian-American at a neighborhood pool.”
The Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) held a press conference on the incident, calling for a hate crimes probe. In a statement, the mother confirmed her family were American citizens of Palestinian origin.
This incident comes amid heightened tensions in the US due to the war in Gaza, which has sparked numerous protests and a surge in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic acts across the country. Recent related incidents include the shooting of three Palestinian-origin students in Vermont and the stabbing death of a six-year-old Muslim boy near Chicago.
