12-year-old accused of a hate crime after two Muslim students are attacked at their Connecticut middle school

(CNN) — A 12-year-old student is facing a hate crime charge in juvenile court after allegedly being part of a group that attacked twin seventh grade Muslim students at their middle school in Waterbury, Connecticut, authorities said Friday.

The girl allegedly involved in the altercation was charged with intimidation based on bigotry and bias in the first and second degree through a court-issued summons to juvenile court.

“Investigators determined that the altercation was motivated by religion and/or ethnicity, meeting the legal definition of a hate crime,” according to a joint statement by the Waterbury State’s Attorney’s Office, Waterbury police and city officials.

The twin 13-year-old girls had their hijabs pulled off and were kicked and punched in the girls’ locker room during their gym period, according to Farhan Memon, chair of the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

“They were beaten up by two of their classmates,” Memon said. “One girl had bruises on her face and her sister had something held against her neck.”

One of the girls felt something slide across her neck, resulting in an abrasion on her neck, Memon told CNN. The girls’ father took them to the hospital where doctors documented bruises and scrapes to the face, nose and neck, Memon added.

Another student involved “was referred to a youth diversionary program as an alternative to arrest, based on her involvement in the incident,” the city said in its statement.

It’s unclear if the two juveniles have appeared in juvenile court, or if they have legal representation.

Waterbury Public Schools Interim Superintendent Darren Schwartz in a statement said the incident is “an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to ensure our students are safe and respectful of one another.”

The incident, which unfolded during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, comes as Muslims report a record-high number of anti-Arab and Islamophobic bias in the United States.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations in its annual civil rights report released last week said it received 8,658 complaints of Islamophobia last year – the highest number ever recorded by the organization.

The twins’ family contacted CAIR one day after the locker room attack, leading to the nonprofit’s involvement in the situation, Memon said.

While Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski said the attack at the middle school was an “isolated incident,” CAIR says it wasn’t the first time the twins – who immigrated with their parents to the US from Egypt last year – had faced bullying from their peers over their religion and ethnicity.

“Although the sisters are not fluent in English, they confirmed that in the weeks leading up to the incident, students—including the girls who allegedly assaulted them—used terms such as ‘Arab,’ ‘Muslim,’ and ‘Hijab’ while laughing and making gestures at them,” CAIR wrote in a letter to officials on March 18.

Just days before the locker room attack, the twins had reported threats by the same student who has since been charged in the attack, according to CAIR.

The student allegedly “dragg(ed) her finger across her neck in a death sign,” CAIR said in a letter to city officials. Waterbury Public Schools said the gesture was made on March 3 after the fight.

Asked about previous incidents among the students, the Waterbury Public Schools superintendent said there was an incident on February 28 that “stemmed from a misconception that the twins were talking about the offender in class, which was deemed to be untrue.”

“The teacher immediately mediated between the students and offered further support, which was declined by all students,” superintendent Schwartz told CNN in an email statement.

Schwartz said the February 28 conflict “would not meet that threshold” of bullying.

Police originally investigated the March 3 incident as a disturbance or assault, but the family later provided more information alleging their daughters were the victims of a hate crime, leading to a “thorough” investigation of the claims, according to the police department.

“Every student deserves to feel secure and respected in their learning environment, and we will continue to work closely with our school partners to uphold that standard,” Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo wrote in a statement.

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