DEARBORN – A Muslim man and his family were attacked inside of the Dearborn Kroger located at 15255 Michigan Avenue, at the corner of Greenfield Rd., while they were grocery shopping on Thursday, February 12.

The incident occurred around 5:45 p.m. when the Arab man and his children were inside of the store purchasing ice cream. Two Caucasian men passed by the family and began making derogatory remarks about ISIS, according to eye witnesses. 

The Caucasian men began to physically assault the Arab man, making comments that included “go back to your country” and “you terrorists.” One of the Caucasian men told the Arab man’s young daughter to “take the rag off your head.” 

Kathy Mcmillan Bazzi, who was shopping at the grocery store during the incident, said she was shaken by what she witnessed. 

“All hell broke loose. There was blood and threats,” said Bazzi. 

Two employees at the Kroger attempted to break up the fighting by holding down the Arab man as the two instigators continued to attack him. 

According to Bazzi, the children were hysterical. The Arab man’s son, who appeared to be around 10 years old, attempted to assist his dad during the aggressive assault, but was held back by bystanders. 

Bazzi said she called the police when the altercation began to spiral out of control, but the two Caucasian males fled the scene by the time authorities arrived. Police took eye witness testimonies, although Bazzi said  “they did not ask her name” during the incident report. 

A second eye witness tells The Arab American News that she was also shopping inside the store when the fighting had transpired.

“I seen blood all over the place,” said Leila. “One guy had blood all over his face and the other guy had a bunch of tattoos on his body.”

In a press release, Dearborn police said  “The incident is currently being thoroughly investigated to determine whether it involves a criminal assault and/or whether it was motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender(s) bias”

According to the city, both police and fire rescue were on the scene within three minutes of receiving the 911 calls. 

“The Dearborn Police will make full disclosure of this incident once fully investigated,” said Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad.  “We have also reached out to our Federal and State partners who have agreed to provide any resources deemed appropriate.” 

No arrests were made following the altercation. At press time, Dearborn Police will not release the name of the family.