AUSTIN, Texas — After a Muslim advocacy group called for federal and state hate crime charges to be brought against a man who is accused of stabbing a Palestinian American man Sunday evening near the University of Texas at Austin, the Austin Police Department announced Wednesday that it will be investigated as a hate crime.

What You Need To Know

  • After a Muslim advocacy group called for federal and state hate crime charges to be brought against a man who is accused of stabbing a Palestinian American man Sunday evening near the University of Texas at Austin, the Austin Police Department announced Wednesday that it will be investigated as a hate crime

  • CAIR spoke with the victims, and according to them, the man repeatedly screamed the n-word and other obscenities at them and then opened the passenger door and pulled one of them out of the car

  • The three other people in the car tried to fight off the attacker, and when they thought he was subdued, the attacker pulled out a knife and stabbed a 23-year-old man in the chest, breaking one of his ribs

  • Bert James Baker, 36, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and police say the incident will be reviewed by the Hate Crimes Review Committee, which will submit its findings to the Travis County District Attorney’s Office

APD stated in a release that “once the committee reviews the details of this case, the information will be provided to the Travis County District Attorney’s Office and/or the County Attorney’s Office. It is up to the prosecuting office to enhance the offense to a bias motivated crime, not the investigative unit.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said four Muslim Americans, three of whom were Palestinian Americans, were driving home from a pro-Palestine protest, when a man riding a bike tried to rip a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf off their car, which said “Free Palestine.”

CAIR spoke with the victims, and according to them, the man repeatedly screamed the n-word and other obscenities at them and then opened the passenger door and pulled one of them out of the car. The three other people in the car tried to fight off the attacker, and when they thought he was subdued, the attacker pulled out a knife and stabbed a 23-year-old man in the chest, breaking one of his ribs. 

The man who was stabbed was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and police arrested the alleged attacker. 

CNN says the stabbing victim, whom they identified as Zacharia Doar, is recovering in the hospital after a successful surgery. 

The victim’s father, Nizar Doar, spoke at a CAIR news conference Tuesday and said his son blames the attack on President Joe Biden. 

“He said, ‘Mr. President, Mr. Joe Biden, I blame you,’” Nizar Doar said, according to CNN. “‘I blame you for what happened to me. If you would have called for a ceasefire three months ago, this would not have happened.’”

Bert James Baker, 36, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and police say the incident will be reviewed by the Hate Crimes Review Committee, which will submit its findings to the Travis County District Attorney’s Office. 

Fayyaz Shah, the CAIR-Austin board chair, echoed in a statement the calls for hate crime charges against Baker. 

"The entire Austin Muslim community stands in solidarity with these young members of our community, who appear to be the latest victims of a surge in anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hate across our nation,” Shah said. “We encourage law enforcement to file hate crime charges against the suspect and we also encourage federal law enforcement to open a hate crime probe."

Rep. Greg Casar, who represents East Austin down to West San Antonio, posted on X, formerly Twitter, about the incident, saying his “thoughts are with the victim & I hope for a full recovery.”

“The recent rise in Islamophobia in this country is leading to deadly violence,” Casar said. “We must condemn all anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim hate & violence. It should have no place in Austin or our country.”

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas War, hate crimes against both Muslim and Jewish people in the U.S. have been on the rise. 

CAIR says they received 3,578 complaints during the last three months of 2023. 

The Anti-Defamation League, an international Jewish advocacy group, told CNN that they reported 2,031 antisemitic incidents in the two months following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, up 330% from 2022.