American-Islamic relations group says attack on Skyline student was racially motivated

District spokeswoman Liz Margolis said an argument started between several students on the bus home from Skyline around 3:30 p.m.

The bus driver believed the argument had been settled down and dropped the students off across from North Maple Estates, Margolis said.

As the bus driver drove off, the fight restarted, Margolis said. She said it grew to include five to seven students, all of whom were freshmen and sophomores.

In a press release posted on his blog, Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan chapter of CAIR, said the attackers shouted racial insults at the 16-year-old victim. The press release said the attackers were black.

“During the attack, the attackers reportedly shouted “F*** Arabs, they are dirty,” pulled off the girl’s Islamic headscarf (hijab), dragged her to a nearby home, and inflicted injuries that required six stitches on her face. The victim’s brother was also attacked while trying to come to her defense,” the release said.

Margolis said disciplinary action was being sought against several of the students, and that would likely take place today. She did not release any other details.

Ann Arbor police said they're looking into the case. Police officials would not release specifics of the incident or a copy of the police report this morning.

Walid said he’s asking for it to be treated as a hate crime.

“Because of the slurs reportedly used during this attack, we urge local, state and national law enforcement authorities to consider hate crime charges for any perpetrators,” he said in his press release.

David Jesse covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at davidjesse@annarbor.com or at 734-623-2534.