{"id":136783,"date":"2023-11-03T23:30:06","date_gmt":"2023-11-04T03:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=136783"},"modified":"2023-11-03T23:30:06","modified_gmt":"2023-11-04T03:30:06","slug":"police-no-evidence-israel-supporter-attacked-unc-muslim-student-with-knife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/police-no-evidence-israel-supporter-attacked-unc-muslim-student-with-knife\/","title":{"rendered":"Police: No evidence Israel supporter attacked UNC Muslim student with knife"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapel Hill police say they’re still investigating social media claim<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Police are investigating an online claim alleging an individual wearing an Israeli flag attacked a Muslim student Tuesday near the University North Carolina, Chapel Hill — but so far say there is no evidence the attack took place.<\/p>\n

The UNC Muslim Students Association claimed<\/a> on its Instagram page Thursday that a Muslim student was attacked with a knife by \u201can individual wearing an Israeli flag\u201d on the evening of Oct. 31 on Franklin Street.<\/p>\n

A UNC Chapel Hill police spokesperson told the\u00a0News & Observer<\/em> the only evidence they have of the alleged attack is a social media post, and no one reported the incident to their department.<\/p>\n

\u201cWas a student attacked on Franklin Street? Neither Chapel Hill Police nor UNC-Chapel Hill can confirm this attack happened as described,\u201d the newspaper reported<\/a> Nov. 1<\/p>\n

“According to the UNC police blotter, no incidents of assault or harassment were reported around 6 p.m. Tuesday evening,” the Observer<\/em> reported<\/a> in a fact-check piece.<\/p>\n

“Additionally, Chapel Hill police said no one has reported this crime. The department currently does not have any evidence of the attack happening, outside of the social media post, according to police spokesperson Alex Carrasquillo,” the newspaper reported.<\/p>\n

The alleged attacked happened on Halloween night on Franklin Street, a very popular and heavily traversed road next to campus.<\/p>\n

The News & Observer<\/em> reported that its request to the association for more information has not been answered.<\/p>\n

The reports of the alleged attack appear to have come from Instagram posts<\/a> by the UNC Muslim Students Association.<\/p>\n

In an Oct. 31 Instagram story, the association wrote: \u201cAttention: There are pro-Israeli people on Franklin attacking Muslim students. Please stay away from the area, especially if you\u2019re hijabi, and be careful,\u201d according<\/a> to the News & Observer<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In a Nov. 1 statement, the Chapel Hill Police Department said<\/a> it was aware of “a social media post describing an assault of a community member who is Muslim” and was working to contact the victim and investigate.<\/p>\n

The Muslim Students Association stated the student is not available for media interviews.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thank law enforcement for investigating this incident and we encourage any interested reporters to contact them for additional information,\u201d it wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n

However, the allegations have raised questions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The activism group Stop Antisemitism posted<\/a> on X: “If this is true, it’s awful. Where can we find more details – a police report? media not reporting on it?”<\/p>\n

The College Fix<\/em> could not find any alerts<\/a> about an assault or similar incident on Alert Carolina, an emergency alert system for UNC students, their families and local residents.<\/p>\n

A message, which appears to have been sent by the Muslim student group to its members earlier this week, stated that \u201cpolice were present on the scene and are aware of the situation,\u201d according to an X post<\/a> by Abed Ayoub, executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.<\/p>\n

\n

The hate doesn\u2019t stop. A Muslim student in NC was attacked with a knife by an individual with an Israel flag. <\/p>\n

Our students are under attack in the US. The Biden Administration needs to do more to protect Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim students on campus. pic.twitter.com\/4LETOXNQ3R<\/a><\/p>\n

— Abed A. Ayoub (@aayoub) November 1, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n