The mother of a 17-year-old autistic Jewish student was shocked when her son come from school and found a swastika carved into his back.
It has been six weeks since the incident occurred, and the culprits still have not been found, several media outlets report. The FBI opened an investigation into the incident when the mother, who requested to remain anonymous, filed complaints with both the Clark County School District in Las Vegas and local law enforcement.
Her son, who wore a kippah to school most days, including the day he was allegedly attacked—indicating he’s a religious Jew—attended typical classes but does not speak and uses a service dog. His mother says he is the only identifiably Jewish student at Clark High School.
The school is reported to have no CCTV cameras in most areas of the facility. Photos of the boy’s injury appear to show evidence of someone having used a narrow object to repeatedly scratch his skin, leaving light gashes in the shape of a swastika, Fox News digital reported.
The mother has since withdrawn her son from the school, arguing it is an “unsafe environment.”
In addition, the mother told the Jewish Press recently that she found the equipment bag carried by the boy’s service dog to be torn and resewn.
One of the more puzzling aspects of the case is a staffer at school who had been assisting her son flatly denied that anything unusual happened that day in March, The Times of Israel reported.
The mother said she asked whether the boy was out of her sight that day: “Did he use the bathroom? Did he have any meltdowns yesterday? I would think this would have caused him to have a meltdown or get agitated.”
But the staffer insisted in a text to the mother that the boy had a “good day.” She added: “No meltdowns or anything. He was with me the whole day and he didn’t use the restroom.”
But the next day, the mother told the Jewish Press, the boy refused to go to the bathroom.
The Nevada branch of the Anti-Defamation League condemned the attack and called it “anti-Semitic.”
“Not only was this student targeted for his identifiable faith, but he was particularly vulnerable due to his disability. This incident illustrates points of intersectionality in how hate can show itself across marginalized communities.”
The Israeli-American Council also condemned the attack. In a statement, Shoma Nicolet, the IAC’s co-founder and CEO, said, “We are appalled to learn that a Jewish teen may have been targeted in such an inhumane anti-Semitic attack. We urge authorities to investigate this incident to the fullest and anyone in the community who has further information to please report it to the FBI.”
The Clark School District is maintaining its innocence throughout the whole investigation by local police, saying “no evidence that would indicate the origin of the boy’s injuries” has been found. It also said in a statement that “other law enforcement agencies” had reviewed the findings.
The FBI is investigating the incident as a hate crime, Fox News Digital reported. {eoa}
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Shawn A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma Media.
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