Muslim Transit Worker Shoved Down Stairs at Grand Central

NYPD says hate crimes on the rise
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 6, 2016 9:34 AM CST
Muslim Transit Worker Shoved Down Stairs at Grand Central
Grand Central Terminal in New York on Oct. 18, 2016.   (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

A Muslim transit worker was called a "terrorist" and pushed down a flight of stairs in New York City on Monday, two days after police say a man threatened to slit the throat of a Muslim NYPD officer. Soha Salama, 45, suffered a twisted knee and swollen ankle. She says she was riding a train to work while wearing her Metropolitan Transportation Authority uniform and a head covering when a man confronted her, reports NBC New York. "He kept telling me I should go back to my country. He said, 'You're a terrorist. You shouldn't work here.'" Police say he followed her into Grand Central Terminal and pushed her down the flight of stairs, per CBS New York.

The NYPD says reports of hate crimes have spiked since the election—the department has logged 43 cases, compared to 20 during the same period in 2015. Of the new ones, four have involved Muslim victims. In a case similar to Monday's incident, police say two men harassed a Muslim woman on the subway on Thursday, calling her a "f---ing terrorist," per NBC New York. Asked Monday whether he blamed Donald Trump for the uptick, Mayor de Blasio said: "It's obviously more complicated than that. It is not linear." But, notes the AP, he accused Trump of "hate speech" and saying "horrible things" about Muslims. (More New York stories.)

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