On Saturday, November 26th, a16-year-old Muslim boy was shot in the left arm whilst wearing a Kufi in Lakewood, Ohio, the suspect has been caught and arrested.
The 16-year-old Muslim boy was walking along 1300 block of West Clifton Boulevard just before 11 pm. The 16-year-old was walking from his part time job as he got outside of 1382 of West Clifton, 26-year-old Denzel R. Johnson approached and shot the victim the left arm. The victim was left bleeding whilst Denzel fled the scene.
The victim told CAIR(Council on American-Islamic Relations) before the Denzel shot him he called him a “terrorist” and “Taliban b*ch” before the shooting.
Lakewood Police and Fire units arrived at the scene and found the 16-year-old high school student bleeding. He was transported to MetroHealth Medical Center for treatment and later released.
The police further investigated the incident and discovered Denzel to be a suspect in the shooting. Denzel R. Johnson was arrested, charged with felonious assault and is currently being held in Cuyahoga County Jail with a bond of $10,000.
CAIR is seeking hate crime enhancements to the sentencing of Denzel and denying him bail.
CAIR-Cleveland Executive Director Julia Shearson said in a statement, "According to the alleged victim, there are clear indicators that this crime was motivated by ethnic and religious hatred, and we believe it should be investigated with that possible bias motive in mind.
We call on law enforcement authorities to investigate this case as a possible hate crime and for the prosecutor to request that bail be denied and for any and all sentencing enhancements be sought under the state law."