A fifth grade student in Washington County, MN, threatened to kill a 3rd grade Muslim student. Three days later, he brought a gun to school (an air pistol), which was confiscated on the bus on the way to school.
Sheriff Bill Hutton said the incident was under investigation but that there had been no indication so far that a hate crime was committed.
Right. “I’m going to kill you, Muslim,” is not necessarily a hate crime. Are they skeptical that hate was the primary motivation for this incident, or are they doubting that a crime was committed at all? The above mentioned sheriff originally described the weapon as a “replica handgun,” so maybe they are saying since it’s an air pistol it wasn’t a crime and therefore not a hate crime.
The same day of the initial threat, another student allegedly attacked female Muslim students by grabbing their hijabs. Several students reported this attack, but school officials said there was no evidence and nothing has happened to the student who allegedly assaulted these girls.
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Behavior is learned. These children are only modeling behavior that they see grownups exhibit. Please don’t act surprised that hate crimes incidents that may be hate crimes are being committed in schools across the country. It would be irresponsible not to assume that these acts will continue to take place, particularly if no one, from adults to children, are held responsible.