Federal and local law-enforcement officials are investigating whether a suspect who allegedly shot a Muslim taxi driver in Pittsburgh committed a hate crime, NBC News reports.
Authorities arrested Anthony Mohamed, 26, on Wednesday. They believe he shot a bullet through the back window of a cab Thanksgiving morning, injuring the driver. He’s charged with aggravated assault, criminal attempted homicide and recklessly endangering another person.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations urged the Justice Department to investigate the shooting as a hate crime. CAIR said the suspect was a passenger in the cab and asked the driver if he was Pakistani, about the Islamic State group and mocked the Prophet Muhammad.
“Federal officials need to send a clear message that attacks on American Muslims, or on any minority group, will not be tolerated and that the perpetrators will face the full force of the law,” said CAIR-Pittsburgh Program Director Alia Schindler, according to NBC.
The organization said it has received more reports of “Islamophobic discrimination, intimidation, threats and violence targeting American Muslims” since the recent Paris terrorist attacks than it has since 9/11, the network reports.
CAIR issued the statement about the swell of threats before last week’s attack in San Bernardino, Calif.
Read more at NBC News.