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May 22, 2020 – 14 people have been treated on scene after a car slammed into a hijab store in Sydney, Australia on Thursday.
Footage from the scene of the crime shows the driver thrusting into the back of another car, pushing it out of his way, before accelerating across an intersection and into the store High Hijab in Greenacre, Sydney.
New South Wales Police Superintendent Murray Reynolds said on 2GB radio, “If you look at it, it does appear as though it’s done deliberately.”
The victims, mostly women between the ages of 18 and 30, sustained injuries that were thankfully “not believed to be life-threatening”, according to a statement by NSW Police.
It is believed that the store was busy with customers shopping for Eid celebrations as the holy month of Ramadan comes to an end.
The store expressed their shock following the incident with a post on their Facebook page saying “the community is shaken and HH management is working to make sense of this tragedy.”
The perpetrator, who police say had a history of “traffic matters” was taken to the hospital under arrest where he underwent blood and urine tests, presumably for intoxicants. He was initially released after undergoing questioning at Bankstown police station but was rearrested following further inquiries.
The 51-year-old man has been formally charged with driving furiously in a motor vehicle to cause bodily harm, reckless driving, and negligent driving. Police say they are not considering the incident a hate crime, and the perpetrator has not been charged as such.
Hate crimes targeting Muslims in Australia are on the rise.
Last year, a pregnant Muslim woman was brutally assaulted in a cafe in Sydney, and, last December a right-wing extremist was found guilty of plotting attacks against Muslims.
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