A male student at Ardrey Kell High School who allegedly beat a female student at the school will not be charged with a hate crime. The family of the girl publicly claimed he’d targeted her because she was Muslim.
In a statement Wednesday, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said CMPD detectives assigned to an FBI task force on the case found no evidence to support a hate crime.
After initially saying the incident had been forwarded to the FBI for review, CMPD said on Wednesday it had confirmed “there is currently no active investigation by the FBI as there is no evidence to support that the crime occurred due to the victim’s religion, race or ethnicity.”
Please see statement below for an update regarding an investigation at Ardrey Kell High School:
— CMPD News (@CMPD) April 2, 2025
CMPD detectives assigned to an FBI task force reviewed this case based on the allegation of a hate crime. After investigation, there is currently no evidence to support a criminal… https://t.co/jC1tommr2L
Neither student's identity has been publicly disclosed. Officials have cited privacy laws for minors and the ongoing investigation in declining to identify them.
The girl’s family and other supporters held a news conference last month, alleging she was beaten severely, incurring multiple broken bones, and that the boy used racial slurs during the incident, using the N-word and telling her to go back to her own country. They said the girl was bullied for days leading up to the incident and called for hate crime charges to be filed in the incident.
But last week, the boy’s family released their own statement, claiming the girl had been the one doing the bullying, as well as the one who started the physical altercation. The family said they’d been harassed as a result of the accusations and that the incident was merely “a classroom fight between two students” that was being mischaracterized by the girl’s family.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools had disciplined both students for the incident — a decision that drew criticism from the girl’s family, who expressed frustration with the district’s handling of the case. CMS has said proper protocol was followed.
