Police Probe Attacks on Arab and Muslim Students in South Paterson
SOURCE: NORTH JERSEY. COM
BY: JOE MALINCONICO
PATERSON — Several Arabic and Muslim teenagers were assaulted in separate incidents this past week, attacks that appear to have been launched by students from John F. Kennedy High School who traveled to South Paterson after school looking for victims, officials said.
“We are taking this situation very seriously and I met with the principal of John F. Kennedy High School,” said Andre Sayegh, Paterson’s first Arab mayor. “Our police department is investigating this matter.”
Police Chief Troy Oswald said detectives in the Major Crimes Unit have been taking statements from the victims and reviewing photos and video recordings of the incidents.
“We’re conducting a full investigation,” said Oswald.
Paterson resident Sikander Khan said his younger brother was among the victims, suffering a gash after he was struck in the head with a rock.
Khan said his brother told him between 12 and 15 young men participated in the attack, which he said happened on Tuesday afternoon on Gould Avenue, near School 9. Members of the attacking group allegedly made biased statements against Arabs and Muslims as they engaged in the assault, said Khan, who is a member of the Paterson zoning board.
Khan said there have been four victims, all students from Passaic County Technical Institute (PCTI). The attackers, Khan said, were wearing the school uniform for Kennedy high school. He said he has sent a photo a witness took of the group to the Kennedy principal. Khan said most of the attackers seemed to be African-American, with some Hispanics.
Paterson school district spokesman Paul Brubaker declined to comment on the situation.
One community leader said that some PCTI students who live in South Paterson – the city’s Middle Eastern neighborhood – cut their final class this some days this week so they could get home safely.
“Kids around here are traumatized by what’s happening,” said Khan.
Officials said they are not sure what — if anything — has prompted the attacks. South Paterson is about three miles away from Kennedy high school, which is just north of the Passaic River. Khan praised the Paterson police for their response to the problems, saying he has noticed an increase law enforcement presence in the area after authorities were notified about the first incidents.
Councilman Al Abdelaziz, who represents the 6th Ward which covers South Paterson, said he is convening a community meeting with police representatives about the situation on Tuesday night at School 9.
“I have a zero tolerance approach to any attacks like this,” Abdelaziz said. “We’ve got to make sure that the people who are responsible for this are held accountable.”