Texas woman allegedly tried to drown Muslim child in racist attack

A Muslim advocacy group called for a hate crimes investigation on Friday after a Texas woman allegedly tried to drown a 3-year-old Palestinian-American girl in a swimming pool.

Elizabeth Wolf, described by the Council on American-Islamic Relations as a “white American,” was arrested on May 19 and initially charged with public intoxication, according to a Euless police news release.

The 42-year-old was later charged with attempted capital crime and assault on a child.

According to CAIR, the incident began when the three-year-old’s mother, who wears a headscarf, was at the swimming pool with her Muslim family. Wolf approached the 32-year-old, identified only as “Mrs. H.”, with “racist interrogations,” according to CAIR.

Wolf asked where the mother was from and whether the two children playing in the pool were hers, according to police who spoke with the mother. The mother said Wolf “made statements about not being American and other racist statements,” according to authorities.

At one point, Wolf jumped into the pool to pull Ms. H’s daughter and six-year-old son into the deep end, CAIR said. The boy managed to break free, but Wolf then allegedly tried to force the three-year-old underwater.

When Ms. H. tried to save her daughter, Wolf “ripped off the mother’s headscarf and used it to hit and kick the mother to keep her away from him while he pushed the daughter’s head under water,” CAIR said.

When Wolf was finally arrested by the officers, she is said to have shouted to a passerby who was comforting her mother: “Tell her I’m going to kill her and I’m going to kill her whole family.”

Witnesses told officers that Wolf appeared to be drunk at the time of the incident. Ms. H.’s two children were medically examined after the ordeal and found innocent, police said.

“We are American citizens, originally from Palestine, and I don’t know where to go to feel safe with my children,” the mother said in a statement provided by CAIR. “My country is facing war, and we are facing this hatred here.”

Mrs. H. said that her daughter was still traumatized.

“Every time I open the apartment door, she runs away and hides. She tells me she’s afraid the lady might come and put her head in the water again,” said Mrs. H.

According to CAIR’s Shaimaa Zayan, Wolf was released on bail a day after her arrest last month. The organization is now demanding not only a hate crimes investigation, but also a higher bail amount and a dialogue with officials about “Islamophobia, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian sentiments,” Zayan said.

“We are seeing a new level of bigotry here: a person deeply believes that he or she can decide which children deserve to live and which do not, based on religion, language spoken and country of origin,” Zayan said.

CAIR released a report earlier this year saying it had received 8,061 complaints of anti-Islamic incidents across the United States in 2023, citing the recent escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza as the driving force behind that number.