HOUSTON: A 31-year-old hijab-wearing nurse in the United States (US) was stabbed in a roadside attack by a man reportedly motivated by anti-Muslim hate, according to details.
A reward of $5,000 has been announced for information leading to the arrest of the attacker.
The victim, who wears a Hijab, said that she was driving home early Thursday morning from her job as a nurse when her car was almost sideswiped by a red vehicle in northwest Harris County, according to the Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Houston).
She got out of her vehicle to check for damage when the car made a U-turn and pulled up behind her, it said.
The driver got out of the vehicle and began screaming obscenities and racial and religious slurs at the woman. She tried to get back into her vehicle through the passenger side, but the door was locked, the organisation said.
Knife attack
The attacker then waved a knife in her face, hitting her with the knife handle on her shoulder and arms. Eventually, he stabbed the woman in the arm, severing an artery and staining himself with blood in the process, it said.
A passenger in the vehicle got out and attempted to restrain the attacker, eventually getting him to climb back in the car which was carrying one more man and leave the scene, CAIR said.
The woman returned to the hospital where she worked and was treated for her stab wounds.
The two men are described as white males between 20 and 35 years old. The Harris County sheriff’s office is investigating the case.
“We hope that anyone who has information about this potentially deadly and apparently bias-motivated attack will immediately contact law enforcement authorities,” said Mustafaa Carroll, CAIR-Houston’s executive director.
