A young boy with severe autism had a swastika carved into his back by students at his local high school — in an incident now on federal authorities’ radar.
The senseless act was carried out last month at Clark High School in Las Vegas and saw an unnamed 17-year-old student fall victim. Several, including the boy’s parents, say it is a hate crime.
In statements to the media, the boy’s mother, also unnamed, said the teenage victim was non-verbal and attended the school with a service dog – until she took him out of class after seeing the hate symbol.
The child is also Jewish – and was wearing a yarmulke when he was attacked. That said, the case remains unsolved and the perpetrators are free – because the school has no security cameras in the classrooms, changing rooms or bathrooms.
On Sunday, more than six weeks after the initial incident, the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) confirmed it was ready to join the Nevada Police Department’s investigation into the suspected hate crime as it sparked outrage across the country. continues to lead.
A young boy with severe autism had a swastika carved into his back by students at his local high school on March 9
The act took place last month at Clark High School in Las Vegas and saw the unnamed 17-year-old fall victim. Several, including the boy’s parents, say it was a hate crime
“My son is the only student I know who wears a yarmulke at school,” said his mother, who asked to remain anonymous. COLlive.com Tuesday, referring to a particular type of headgear worn by Jewish boys.
The Orthodox Jewish News Service was the first to report on the incident, which fellow Jewish publication YNet news said it was being investigated by the FBI as a “suspected hate crime.”
However, in a statement Tuesday, the FBI contradicted the outlet’s claim, saying only that it was “willing” to jump into the current police investigation at a moment’s notice.
“We are aware of the incident and are in regular contact with local authorities,” the agency said in a statement on Saturday.
“If the local investigation uncovers information about a possible federal civil rights violation, the FBI is prepared to investigate.”
Aside from the outlet’s report, the agency’s statement also came in direct contradiction to claims recently issued by the Anti-Defamation League of Nevada (ADL), which said the agency was already part of the investigation and incident. convict.
“ADL condemns this violent, anti-Semitic act,” the organization’s regional director, Jolie Brislin, said earlier this week, saying he was in touch with the agency.
“Not only was this student targeted because of his identifiable faith, but he was also particularly vulnerable because of his disability. This incident illustrates points of intersectionality in how hate can manifest in marginalized communities,” said Brislin.
“ADL Nevada, in conjunction with Jewish Nevada and the Safe Nevada Security Initiative, has been in close contact with parents, CCSD and law enforcement, and will work with Clark High School to provide anti-Semitism education.
“School should not be a place for hatred and no student should feel unsafe and threatened.”
More than a month later, the case remains unsolved and the perpetrators are at large – because the school has no cameras in the classrooms, changing rooms or bathrooms
The Clark County School District – comprising some 374 schools and approximately 315,600 students in Sin City – claims that the 168-strong police force has already conducted “a thorough investigation” but has not yet found anything that points to a particular student refers
The boy’s mother has since taken him out of the public school, which has about 280 students
Meanwhile, district officials said a police investigation has yet to turn up anything noteworthy — while the boy’s mother spoke to another Jewish outlet on Wednesday about how she came across the swastika on her son’s back when he came home from school on March 9.
Speak against The Jewish Pressthe mother said that as soon as she saw the symbol, she wrote an email to an employee who was supposed to be shadowing her son that day, asking if the teen had ever been left unattended.
“Did he use the bathroom?” the mother reportedly wrote. “Did he have a breakdown yesterday? I would think this would have given him a meltdown or excitement.”
The mother claimed that the shadow responded quickly, writing to the boy “have a good day,” with “no breakdowns or anything,” while claiming to the mother that her son was “with me all day.” [and] he didn’t use the toilet.’
The mother accused her of the child refusing to use the restroom the next day, prompting her to file a report with the Clark County School District Police two days later.
As she filed a report, she explained, “The shadow has remained [my son] from the old class. I dropped him off at school once last year and I got an email from the teacher and occupational therapist that he was absent from class.
“I took my son out of school because it’s an unsafe environment.”
Meanwhile, the school district – comprising some 374 schools and about 315,600 students in Sin City – claims that police employed by the 168-strong police force have already conducted “a thorough investigation” but have not yet found anything that points to a specific student refers. .
The district also said that “other law enforcement agencies” had reviewed information gathered during the district police investigation “and found no evidence that would point to the origin of the injuries.”
The mother claims that a page charged with shadowing her son on the day of the attack somehow missed it, labeling the school as ‘an unsafe place’
CCSD police took a report of injuries discovered by a parent at home in mid-March. Police conducted a thorough investigation, including interviews with staff and a review of available CCTV footage,” it said Wednesday, a day after COLive reported on the suspected hate crime.
“The investigation found no evidence that would point to the origin of the injuries.”
The district further emphasized that it “encompasses all races, ethnicities, cultures, religions/beliefs, sexual orientations, gender identities, socioeconomic statuses, abilities and living situations” and “will not tolerate discriminatory behavior.”
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Clark County School District for comment.
The incident comes amid a recent spate of anti-Semitic incidents in the US, with much of the behavior being displayed by youth in public schools.
Statistics released by the (ADL) on Thursday showed how anti-Semitic incidents of all kinds increased in 2022 — a 36 percent increase from the previous year.
Of these, 53 percent opposed Orthodox Jews, whose dress makes them a prime target for potential hate crime perpetrators.
As for the number of incidents, the league said there were 3,697 last year alone — the highest number in a year since ADL began tracking them in 1979.
The findings come on the heels of an increase in attacks on synagogues and Jewish community centers, and a marked increase in celebs like Kanye West spreading anti-Semitic views on social media.
The incident comes as one-fifth of Americans now believe in at least six anti-Jewish ideas — nearly double the number in 2019 and the highest share in 30 years
Other recent scandals have involved Oscar-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg, Los Angeles Lakers player Meyers Leonard, former President Donald Trump and Democratic Congressman Ilhan Omar.
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of ADL, called the results “stunning and sobering” and a “wake-up call for the whole country.”
“There is an alarming increase in anti-Semitic views and hatred by almost every measure, at a level unseen for decades,” he warned.
A Tel Aviv University study found that an increase in online hate speech, financial hardship caused by Covid lockdowns and the intensified Israeli-Palestinian conflict were all responsible for the increase in attacks against Jewish people last year.
This also fueled the success of the far-right and far-left both politically and online – as well as anti-Semitic conspiracy theories related to Covid, with social media also playing a role.
Professor Uriya Shavit, the head of the Tel Aviv study, said: “These data are a result of the strengthening in some countries of the radical populist right and anti-Zionist radical left.
“Covid-19 fears and the economic hardships that followed unleashed voices of hatred and prejudice. So was the conflict in Gaza in May 2021.
“Social media, with the echo chambers it cultivates, popularizes destructive conspiracy theories on which anti-Semitism thrives.”
The professor said about the influx of incidents: ‘Something went horribly wrong’.