NEW YORK (WHDH) - A Muslim woman said she was attacked and harassed while at work in New York City, the third Muslim woman who has reported a hate crime in the city in the past week.
Soha Salama said she was riding the subway to work Monday morning and was in her transit uniform and hijab. She said a man boarded the subway and started yelling at her, calling her a terrorist and telling her to go back to her country. She switched subway cars to try and get away from him but said he followed her.
At Grand Central Station, police said she got off the subway and the man followed her before pushing her down a flight of stairs.
“I wasn’t able to say anything,” said Salama. “I was running for my life. I was afraid he was going to throw me down on the tracks or do more bad to me than he already did.”
Salama suffered a twisted knee and swollen ankle but said this will not change how she treats others. Police are looking for the suspect.
“I will continue loving people. It doesn’t affect me as a person. I will continue to love and care for everybody,” said Salama.
Two other Muslim women have reported hate crimes in New York City in the past week. One woman told police three men harassed her on the subway in Brooklyn and tried to rip off her hijab. NYPD Officer Aml Elsokary said she was off-duty and unarmed when a man harassed and threatened her and her teenage son. The suspect, who was arrested Monday, allegedly called Elsokary “ISIS” and threatened to cut her throat.
New York City has seen a spike in hate crimes since Election Day, with 43 cases reported in almost a month.
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