Friday April 11, 2025
Anisa Liban, community advocate with CAIR Ohio, speaks during a press conference in Columbus calling for hate crime charges after a Somali Muslim woman was assaulted by neighbors outside her apartment. The Council on American-Islamic Relations urged police to act swiftly and transparently in the investigation. Image courtesy of WBNS 10TV – click to view full report
COLUMBUS, Ohio (HOL) — A Somali Muslim woman was violently assaulted by her neighbours outside her apartment complex in Columbus on March 20, prompting civil rights groups to call for hate crime charges and greater accountability from law enforcement.
Surveillance video of the incident shows the woman being attacked by multiple people outside the Southpark Apartments in Franklinton after she returned from walking her child to the school bus stop. The video, released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Ohio, shows her being punched, knocked to the ground, and kicked by at least three individuals before a fourth person emerged and struck her again.
CAIR and other community leaders say the woman, who primarily speaks Somali, was targeted for her faith and ethnicity. Witnesses say the attackers mocked her accent and threatened to harm her and her family. “Her neighbours attacked her very brutally for really no other reason than Faith being who she is. We believe this was an anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim attack,” said Anisa Liban, a community advocate with CAIR Ohio.
While community advocates referred to the woman as “Faith” during a press conference, authorities and civil rights groups have not publicly released her full name.
“They threatened, saying they will kill you and your family outside your home,” said Lynn Tramonte, director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, citing the victim’s account.
The woman, who does not speak English, was reportedly dismissed by officers at the scene. According to CAIR, her daughter was forced to interpret during the police response. The advocacy group said that police failed to take the incident seriously and delayed any arrests despite the video footage and eyewitness accounts.
“The fact that nobody was arrested is concerning,” said Khalid Turaani, executive director of CAIR-Ohio. “It is imperative that authorities act swiftly to ensure justice for the victim and her family and to demonstrate that Columbus will not tolerate such alleged acts of violence and intimidation.”
Columbus police said they responded to the scene around 8:46 a.m. and transported the victim to an area hospital in stable condition. Detectives identified two suspects, one of whom is a minor, and forwarded the case to the City Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
“We handle all investigations, including those involving hate crime allegations, with the highest level of diligence,” the department said in a statement. “Police leadership met with the victim, her family and community leaders on March 28 to hear their concerns, advise them of the legal process, and update them on the status of the investigation.”
Police also confirmed that a complaint regarding officers’ conduct at the scene had been referred to the Department of the Inspector General for independent investigation.
CAIR and members of Columbus’s Somali community said they met with police nearly two weeks after the incident but have not seen follow-through. “We were promised there would be some action, and we haven’t seen any of it yet,” said Turaani.
“This community will not rest until Faith and her family receive the justice they need. We demand accountability, demand transparency,” said Deqa Haji, executive director of the ZamZam Women & Family Center.
The attack sparked concern over the handling of the case and the safety of Columbus’s sizable Somali community.
“I am certain that law enforcement understands our concerns, but we need to see action and we need reassurance,” said Anisa Liban.
State Rep. Ismail Mohamed, who arranged the March 28 meeting between Somali leaders and Columbus police, said the city has been responsive but acknowledged frustrations. “So the city has been responsive, I think, but you can imagine it’s a slow process, and I can understand the frustration as well,” Mohamed said. “I’m an attorney, so I get it. But, you know, justice is not always swift.”
CAIR has also called for reforms, including cultural competency training for police officers and appointing a liaison to immigrant and refugee communities. “We need them to condemn this violent attack,” Liban said.
The attack comes as anti-Muslim and anti-Arab incidents have dramatically increased. CAIR reported 8,658 such complaints in 2024 alone — the highest annual figure since the organization began tracking incidents in 1996.
As of this reporting, no arrests have been made.