PALM BEACH, Fla. – A video shows the beating of 14-year-old West Boca High School student at the hands of a group of teenage girls at the Sunset Cove Amphitheatre Park.
Her father, Shakeel Munshi, said he believes the attack was a hate crime. He said there was bullying before the beating and they were threatening to kill her for being Muslim.
The girl, who agreed to meet with her attackers at the park, was treated at the hospital for head and face injuries. Munshi said she thought she was meeting them to talk.
Palm Beach Sheriff's Office deputies were investigating the case and detectives believe the conflict was over a boyfriend. Munshi disagrees and said she didn't have a boyfriend.
The Council on American-Islamic relations reached out to the girl's family and said her case is among numerous complaints of school bullying incidents and serious assaults against Muslims in the United States.
Palm Beach County prosecutors are considering filing criminal charges.