A woman was shot in Capitol Heights, Maryland, on Monday, in an incident that her family and a local advocate group claimed was likely a hate crime, according to multiple groups.
Prince George’s County police said a woman was found shot on the 500 block of Richie Road shortly before 1 p.m. and taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
In a later statement from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the group said the woman, who was wearing a traditional Islamic face veil, was shot at several times while she was leaving a shopping area.
CAIR said the apparent religious attire was a likely reason for the shooting, and called on law enforcement to investigate a possible hate/ bias motive.
“Because of the religious attire of the alleged victim, the growing racial and religious bigotry nationwide and recent acts of politically-motivated violence, we urge state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate…,” a portion of CAIR’s statement read. “People of all faiths and backgrounds must be able to go about their daily business without fear of attack.”
Police have not yet arrested a suspect, but said an investigation is ongoing.