St. Louis police allege hate crime in latest attack
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The St. Louis police chief has asked for the FBI's help investigating what he believes was a hate crime attack against a woman in the same Bosnian neighborhood where a man was beaten to death days earlier by hammer-wielding teens.
The 26-year-old Bosnian-American woman told police she was stopped in her car by three African-American teens early Friday morning. One of the assailants flashed a gun and ordered the woman out of her vehicle and another hit the woman's windshield with what police believe was a crowbar, authorities said.
"You're Bosnian," one of the suspects allegedly said. "I should just kill you now." The woman, who was pulled from the car and then beaten, was found unconscious by a passerby, police said.
"As of now, officers are investigating this incident as a bias crime based on the victim's account of the incident," the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said in an email Monday.
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Bevo Mill residents say assaults and threats by packs of teenagers against Bosnians have become the norm. One who spoke said there is a disturbing pattern of violence against white residents in the area.
"It is common for African-American teens to walk in the middle of the street and block in cars at intersections," said the man, who has lived in the neighborhood for half a decade. "We have been stopped at intersections in Bevo and our car attacked by teens who pound on the car -- laughing at us."
"They only do this to white individuals, who they have learned will generally not respond. There is a pattern here and it is racially motivated," he alleged.
