A Texas woman, Elizabeth Wolf, 42, has been charged with attempted capital murder in connection to a racially motivated attack on a three-year-old Palestinian-American girl. Wolf is accused of attempting to drown the child in an apartment pool in Euless, Texas. The indictment, issued on August 15, includes a hate crime enhancement, citing that Wolf targeted the victims because they were “Muslims or persons of Middle Eastern descent.”
According to police, Wolf was intoxicated when she approached the children’s mother at the pool, asking where she was from and whether her six-year-old son and three-year-old daughter were her children. Wolf allegedly made racist remarks, questioning the mother’s nationality and making other offensive statements.
After the exchange, Wolf reportedly jumped into the pool and attempted to grab both children. The boy, with the help of his mother, managed to escape, sustaining only a minor injury. However, Wolf then forced the young girl’s head underwater. The mother was able to pull her daughter free, and the child coughed up water as she cried for help.
Emergency responders arrived on the scene and medically cleared both children. As Wolf was arrested, she reportedly threatened the family, shouting at a bystander, “Tell her I will kill her, and I will kill her whole family.”
The mother later spoke about the traumatic impact the incident had on her daughter, saying, “My daughter is traumatized; whenever I open the apartment door, she runs away and hides, telling me she is afraid the lady will come and immerse her head in the water again.”
This attack comes amid heightened concerns about violence against American Muslims, Arabs, and Jews, with human rights advocates warning of rising threats. The Daily Mail reported that this incident follows other similar hate crimes, including the fatal stabbing of a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy in Illinois, the February stabbing of a Palestinian-American man in Texas, and the shooting of three Palestinian-American students in Vermont in November.
Wolf now faces serious charges, including attempted capital murder and intentional harm to a child, with the added hate crime enhancement. As the legal process unfolds, the case highlights ongoing concerns about racially motivated violence in the United States.