BOSTON (WHDH) - Three teenagers were arrested and charged with hate crimes after police say they harassed and assaulted a woman they believed was an immigrant.
Three teenagers – a 15-year-old girl from Mattapan and two 15-year-old girls from Dorchester – were arraigned as a result of the incident.
Police say the incident occurred on an MBTA train on Nov. 7.
Prosecutors say a 49-year-old woman boarded a Red Line train at Savin Hill on the morning of Nov. 7. The defendants, who were all aboard the train, began harassing the woman, mocking her accent and telling her to “go back to your own country.”
The woman attempted to leave her seat, at which point the teens allegedly blocked her.
One of the teens then punched the woman repeatedly and struck her in the face with a cell phone.
A witness observed the incident and pushed the train’s emergency call button at Andrew Station. MBTA Transit Police spoke to witnesses who said the group of teens celebrated as they left the train.
Transit police got a photo from another witness, and police detectives showed the photo to Boston Public School officials, who helped officers make arrests.
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