Two Sikh teens were allegedly assaulted and harassed by a group of teenagers at a Long Island mall. A 13-year-old was arrested and charged for aggravated harassment as a hate crime on Friday.
Sikh teen says he was harassed, attacked by older teens at mall
CBS2’s Alice Gainer spoke with one of the teens and his father.
“Physically I’m OK, but mentally… I have a 3-year-old brother. I don’t want this happening to him,” 13-year-old Chaz Bedi said.
Chaz says he was at Walt Whitman Shops in South Huntington with a friend when they passed some older teens they didn’t know.
“He’s like, ‘Hey Muhammad, come over here.’ Well, that hurts me immediately because my name is obviously not Muhammad. It’s kind of stereotypical,” he said.
Chaz says he walked up to them.
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A potential hate crime is being investigated by Suffolk police following an argument between two groups of juveniles at Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station on Saturday. (Shutterstock)
HUNTINGTON STATION, NY A fight between two groups of juveniles on Saturday in Huntington Station is being investigated as a potential hate crime, Suffolk police said.
The juveniles began arguing at Walt Whitman Shops and one told officers he was punched and that bias comments were hurled at him, police said. He was not injured.
Police did not detail the comments.
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Chaz Bedi, 13, of Syosset, who is a Sikh, told ABC 7 that he and his friend, who were wearing dastars, were walking through the mall when they passed a large group of teenagers. One of the teens called Bedi Muhammad, Bedi told Eyewitness News reporter Kristin Thorne. Words were exchanged, but Bedi and his friend tried to walk away before the group followed them, according to ABC 7. One teenager told Bedi, I