Texas woman sentenced to 5 years for trying to drown Palestinian baby
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The woman attempted to drown a 3-year-old Palestinian-American Muslim girl in a racially motivated attack.
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This booking photo provided by the Euless, Texas, Police Department shows Elizabeth Wolf after her attempt to drown a 3-year-old girl in a hate crime, June 24, 2024 (AP)
A Texas woman received a five-year prison sentence for trying to drown a 3-year-old Palestinian-American Muslim girl in a May 2024 incident that local police said was motivated by racial bias.
According to court records and proceedings cited by CBS News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Judge Andy Porter sentenced Elizabeth Wolf, 43, after she pleaded guilty to attempted murder and injury to a child. Wolf had been indicted last year after the attack, which then-President Joe Biden condemned and waived a trial by jury.
The incident occurred at an apartment complex swimming pool in Euless, Texas, where Wolf argued with the mother of the 3-year-old girl, who was also at the pool with her 6-year-old son, after Wolf, according to a police report, asked where they were from.
According to the report, Wolf tried to drown the 3-year-old and attempted to grab the 6-year-old, before the mother pulled her daughter from the water, after which the children were medically cleared when medics responded.
This comes as part of a rise in anti-Muslim violence in the United States, with several similar incidents taking place.
Recent incidents that have raised concerns about anti-Muslim bias include the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy in Illinois, the stabbing of a Palestinian-American man in Texas, and a violent mob attack on pro-Palestine protesters in California.
Other recent incidents include the shooting of two Israeli visitors in Florida by a suspect who mistook them for Palestinians, as well as an assault in New York City where a pro-Israeli mob chanted "Death to Arabs."
