An Arab Muslim student at Stanford says he was walking across a street when he was intentionally hit by a car driven by a pro-Israel student who sped off after allegedly yelling, “F— you and your people,” according to a campus police alert.
The victim was taken to the hospital for injuries that were described by campus police as “not life-threatening.”
The incident happened just before 2 p.m. Friday at Campus Drive and Ayrshire Farm Lane, near Bowdoin Lane.
The CHP is investigating it as a potential hate crime.
The victim, who issued a statement after the incident, said the driver made eye contact with him before accelerating.
“As soon as he hit me, as my body was turning around, the driver yelled, ‘f— you and your people,’ and accelerated toward me,” the student said.
Upon locking eyes, he identified the individual as someone who has taken to filming pro-Palestine activists on campus.
The suspect is described as a white male in his mid-20s, with short dirty-blond hair, round framed eyeglasses and a short beard. Stanford police said the suspect’s vehicle is a black SUV with a tire mounted on the back.
University police were alerted of the hit-and-run shortly after the incident, according to the victim, but did not issue a campus-wide alert informing the student body until 10:30 p.m. Friday.
Stanford Students for Justice in Palestine said the Stanford administration only issued the “poorly thought out and careless statement” after public pressure from Muslim and Arab students, despite campus policy that mandates community notification within a two-hour window following violent incidents.
“The university must deploy its resources to determine who the perpetrator was, support the survivor of this attack (and others) with specialized resources, care, and any and all resources they need at their request, and release a statement condemning the violent Islamophobic and anti-Arab hate crimes in particular and with that language that have occurred on campus,” the student group’s statement said.
The incident comes at a time when student activists have been camping in White Plaza to demand that the university denounce Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
According to the Department of Public Safety, “Stanford is continuing to work to provide a safe and secure campus environment in the context of heightened tensions related to the events in Israel and Gaza. This includes additional security that has been deployed at key locations on campus.”
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact CHP at (650) 779-2700 or Stanford public safety at (650) 329-2413. — With reporting from Bay City News
And the victim’s name is Jussie Smollett!
I hope they find the perpetrator. All students should feel safe and protected regardless of which side they’re on.
Is there any corroboration of the alleged victim’s story? A video? A witness? The Palestinian protesters haven’t been getting much news coverage for their sit-in at White Plaza, so maybe this incident is fabricated to generate attention to their grievances?
Other articles mention the student was treated for his injuries at Stanford medical. Do you think this is another “Jussie smollett “ incident?
Hate leads to more hate… which side are you on, Stuart?
If you’re sick enough in the head, you’re capable of injuring yourself. Anything for the cause, right?
I’ll reserve judgment. I’d like to see all the evidence. Something smells like 4-day old fish…
It’s weird that the victim of a car accident would put out a press release. When does that happen?
So I guess the moral equivalence of this car crash is the slaughter of 1,400 innocent men, women, children and even babies. Good luck at changing the narrative.
Without video, I don’t believe a word of this story.