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A 55-year-old woman has said she was beaten on a New York City subway after being asked, “Are you a Muslim?”
Early Wednesday morning, the woman was boarding a subway in Queens when Naved Durrni, 34, is accused of getting too close to her face, according to WABC, which spoke exclusively to the woman.
"He said tell me where are you from? Are you Muslim? I said yes. And then he punching me, he start to kick, he punch all over,” the woman said.
The woman was attacked from the moment the train doors closed until its next stop, where the man fled, WABC reported.
"I just said stop, stop but he not stopping," the woman said. "I couldn't understand what was going on.”
A spokesperson for The New York City Police Department told The Independent Durrni, who was wearing a face cover, “punched and kicked her in the face, head and neck.”
Police said Durrni had asked the woman if she was Muslim, and after the attack, he fled. Two other women and the subway conductor had helped police find Durrni, according to WABC.
Durrni was arrested on charges of hate crime assault and aggravated harassment, the NYPD told The Independent.
The woman had a concussion, a fractured nose and bruises all over her body, WABC reported.
“This trauma with me. It's never happened before. How can I forget his face?" she said.
A GoFundMe has been created to help the woman pay for her medical bills, mental health support and other necessities such as rent and groceries.
The organizer of the fundraising page, who identified themselves as the woman’s child, wrote: “She was simply trying to earn a living for herself and her two dependents when a man approached her, demanded to know if she was Muslim, and then—after she quietly responded ‘yes’—he savagely beat her without warning.”
The woman is in “physical and emotional agony,” the organizer said, adding that although the suspect was arrested, “justice doesn’t erase trauma—or cover medical bills.”
The woman has no health insurance “due to having a new job recently,” according to the GoFundMe page.
“The cost of emergency care, specialist visits, medications, and imaging scans is already overwhelming. But what’s worse is that the concussion symptoms are ongoing, making it impossible for her to return to work right now.
She is unable to support herself or her dependents and is now struggling to pay her rent, utilities, and basic living expenses,” the organizer said.
