The family of a Muslim female student at Ardrey Kell High School is pushing for hate crime charges to be filed against a male student, alleging that he violently beat her and used racial slurs.
At a news conference Wednesday, advocates and members of the girl’s family stood at the corner of Ardrey Kell and Wade Ardrey roads, holding pictures of the girl’s face, depicting lacerations and heavy bruising. They say the other student was a football player who had been repeatedly bullying the girl, who wears a hijab. Last Friday, things escalated. The girl’s family said he beat her while using the N-word and telling her to go back to her own country.
“She’s called the N-word, she’s told to go back to her country, he’s intimidating her because she’s wearing the hijab, clearly identified as a Muslim,” said Jibril Hough, a spokesperson for the family from the Islamic Center of Charlotte. “So the intent is there. It’s clearly a hate crime.”
The girl was born in the U.S. She now requires surgery to repair broken bones in her face, her family said.
“She was beaten up to a point where her eye is not able to open,” said Najia Shafei, a longtime friend of the girl. “The bruising hides every single structure of her face.”
The students’ names were not disclosed. A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools spokesperson said the school system can't give more details of the case, citing privacy laws.
Advocates also criticized CMS for its handling of the situation. They said the male student was suspended shortly after the incident — but the school also suspended the girl on Tuesday. Hough dismissed any possibility that both students bore responsibility for the action, noting the male student’s bigger stature, repeated bullying and the nature of the girl’s injuries.
CMS had previously disclosed that an incident occurred between two students that required county EMT services to respond — but Hough and the girl’s family said it was ultimately her family that pushed for 911 to be called. They also allege school officials pressured the family to not share the incident with the media. They said they wanted CMS to investigate the incident further.
But in a separate press conference Wednesday, CMS defended its response.
“Ardrey Kell High School followed all policies and procedures as outlined in the board policy manual and student code of conduct, including involving law enforcement, calling 911 immediately and providing medical attention,” Chief Operations Officer Tim Ivey said.
CMS said the school’s resource officer initiated the proper investigative process after the incident and that the matter is currently under police investigation.
“The determination of whether this, or any situation, constitutes a hate crime, falls under the jurisdiction of law enforcement and not the school district,” Ivey said.
In a social media post on Thursday, CMPD confirmed the school resource officer took a report of the incident, and said that report is being referred to the FBI for further investigation. It would ultimately be up to the FBI to determine whether the incident is classified as a hate crime.
CMS has recently made headlines due to student safety concerns. The district recently updated its communications protocol after parents expressed dismay over a lack of communication when police arrested a man for making threats at several schools.
Ardrey Kell has previously made headlines over racially divisive incidents. In 2019, a basketball player was suspended for using a racial slur online. In 2020, a decorated rock depicting Black Lives Matter messages was defaced.
Ibraheem Nasif, the girl’s brother and a former Ardrey Kell student, said he faced discrimination at the school, and that his sister had told him about frequent bullying. He said he wants justice for his sister.
“I went through it as well, people calling me a terrorist and all that,” Nasif said. “You’ve just got to keep ignoring it. I didn’t think that anyone would like punch her or anything. But then when I saw that, it was just crazy to me.”
This story has been updated to include more information from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
