Three Muslims wearing hijabs, one of them a 12-year-old girl, were assaulted by a hate-filled woman yelling “Go back to you country” during a wild 11-minute spree in Brooklyn, officials said Thursday.
The violence began when a 33-year-old woman in a hijab — a religious head scarf often worn by Muslim women — was kicked by the stranger outside a preschool on Fifth Ave. near 89th St. in Bay Ridge about 2:25 p.m. Friday, cops said.
Eight minutes later, a 39-year-old woman about to step onto a B53 bus a few blocks away near 92nd St. and Gelston Ave. was shoved from behind by the same crazed assailant.
Three minutes later a 12-year-old girl was punched in the face a block away on Fort Hamilton Parkway and 92nd St., police said.
The attacker ran off but on Wednesday cops arrested 34-year-old Megan Horne of Staten Island, charging her with multiple counts of assault and aggravated harassment as hate crimes.
“I am outraged by the despicable, cowardly attacks against Muslim New Yorkers,” Mayor Mamdani posted on X late Wednesday. “This violence is unacceptable, and we know that all too often visibly Muslim, hijab-wearing women and girls bear the brunt of it.”
None of the victims were seriously hurt. During each incident, the attacker yelled “Go back to your country!” Councilwoman Kayla Santosuosso (D-Bay Ridge) said.
“I can only imagine the lasting fear and trauma that this has caused,” Santosuosso wrote on X.
Horne was previously arrested for punching and shoving a 64-year-old woman she didn’t know back on Oct. 5, but that incident was not considered a bias crime, officials said.
Her arraignment on Friday’s assaults was pending in Brooklyn Criminal Court Thursday.
“Grateful to see an arrest made in the disgusting, Islamophobic attacks in Bay Ridge,” Gov. Hochul posted on social media Wednesday. “No New Yorker, especially a child, should ever be targeted because of their faith. We will continue to crack down on hate crimes to the fullest extent of the law.”
