DEARBORN — Police and federal authorities are questioning two men from Taylor about their involvement in a possible hate crime that occurred at a Dearborn Kroger last week.

Mayor Jack O’Reilly told The Arab American News Wednesday morning that the city is still conducting an investigation into the incident that involved two White men who allegedly attacked a local Arab-Muslim who was shopping at the Kroger store at Michigan Ave. and Greenfield Rd. with his children.

“We’ve had two individuals from Taylor that have been interviewed twice,” said O’Reilly. “The police have been talking to some witnesses and we’ve been working with the FBI to determine whether it’s a hate crime.”

Yet, many in the community do not share in the transparency or conclusions suggested by the Mayor.

The American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee of Michigan (ADC-MI) Director Fatina Abdrabboh told The Arab American News that she met with Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad the day after the incident to address her concerns about the case. She had also notified the FBI about the possible hate crime.

Abdrabboh said she was unsettled by some aspects of the investigation, including comments O’Reilly gave to The Arab American News.

“We prefer that if the mayor was going to comment, he would do so responsibly and comment on the need to protect a Dearborn resident,” said Abdrabboh. “Instead, he chose to advise suspects publicly that they are going to be interviewed. I think we can all agree such public comments by an elected mayor are not prudent nor helpful to a victim seeking justice.”

The Kroger incident occurred on Thursday, Feb. 12, around 5:55 p.m., when the Muslim man and his children were selecting grocery items in one of the store’s aisles. According to witnesses, two White men crossed paths with the family and began making derogatory remarks. They began to physically assault the Arab man, making comments that included “go back to your country” and “you terrorists” and suggesting the family was related to ISIS. One of the men told the Muslim man’s young daughter to “take the rag off her head.” 

It now appears that the Muslim man did not take the confrontation lightly, defending himself against the culprits, in what transpired into a bloody scene.

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

“All of a sudden, the man is punching this Arabic man, fists started flying,” Bazzi said. “All hell broke loose. There was blood and threats.”

Kroger employees attempted to break up the fighting by holding down the Arab man, as the two aggressors 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 father during the assault, but was held back by bystanders. 

Bazzi said she called the police when the altercation began to spiral out of control, but the attackers fled the scene by the time police arrived. Police took eyewitness testimonies at the store.

A second eyewitness told The Arab American News that she was also shopping inside the store when the fighting took place.

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

Two witnesses claimed it took Dearborn Police between 15 and 20 minutes to arrive at the store, but Mayor O’Reilly said both fire and police were on the scene within just three minutes after the first 911 call.

“We have the data and it can’t be altered,” O’Reilly said. “Some people may have been standing there videotaping instead of calling the police immediately. Our response time was perfectly appropriate to when the first call was made.” 

The incident sparked outrage and concern in the metro Detroit region.  Muslim and Arab communities were already on edge last week following the murders of three Muslim students in North Carolina by a gun-toting neighbor. 

O’Reilly said he didn’t have an estimation of when the investigation would conclude, since the city is collaborating with federal authorities on the case. However, he did note that the victim was not injured during the assault. The two men from Taylor suffered more injuries.

“The victim was not seriously injured; he did, in fact, fight back,” O’Reilly added. “The assailants could have gotten the worst of it. The police were involved with how they identified them and we will be bringing the two perpetrators back in.  We’ve added the information, interviewed the parties and put together the witness statements.”

Abdrabboh noted that a hate crime should be classified based on the intent of the perpetrators and not which party suffered the most injuries.

“It is discouraging  to read the Mayor O ‘Reilly’s selective comments,” Abdrabboh said.  “On one hand he makes it a point to say that the ‘victim was not seriously injured’, but seemingly disregards two critical points. One, he’s still a victim who was attacked and beaten in front his children. Secondly, the fact that this victim fought back and defended himself does not take away from his status as a victim of an assault. Whether he was injured seriously or not is irrelevant. He was assaulted and by independent witness accounts it appears to have been because of his race and national origin.”

Surveillance footage inside the Kroger also captured the incident, although management at the store were told by local authorities to withhold from releasing the footage to the media while the investigation is still being conducted.

After The Arab American News first broke the story on Friday, many local residents raised concerns that Islamophobia had trickled into the Detroit metro region, surprising to many since it’s home to the largest concentration of Muslims in the U.S.

O’Reilly said residents should be aware of their surroundings but should not be afraid to go shopping or conduct their routine activities.

“It appears to be an isolated incident, which can often be fueled by international events,” he added. “I don’t think people should be on edge. There is nothing indicating that there is high risk and I certainly don’t want people to change their behavior or feel they can’t be out doing normal things. The incident seemed to be spur-of-the-moment and certainly unplanned. If you see something, get a hold of us right away and make us aware of it.”

City Council President Susan Dabaja also issued a statement to The Arab American News, assuring residents that she’s been communicating with the mayor and police department to guarantee a full investigation into the matter. 

“I shop at that Kroger on a weekly basis and I was both surprised by the occurrence and disheartened that it took place in front of children,” Dabaja said. “Immediately after learning of the incident, I contacted both Mayor O’Reilly and Chief Haddad. They both assured me that a full investigation would be conducted and that this matter is being taken very seriously.”  

The names of the those involved in the incident have yet to be released by authorities. The Arab American News contacted the Kroger Co. by both phone and email. Company representatives have yet to respond to the incident. 

Abdrabboh said she’s disappointed in Kroger’s lack of response. She questioned why the corporation didn’t have security in place and whether employees followed proper protocal in dealing with the victim.

“We are very concerned that Kroger continues to fail in meeting their legal obligations,” Abdrabboh said.  “They make millions of dollars in profit from this community, I don’t see why they don’t have security in place given the times we are in. Most disturbingly,  it appears that they advised the victim in this case that he is not welcomed back into Kroger.”

Abdrabboh said she’s still hopeful that more information will be shed onto the issues she raised in coming days.

“We are awaiting for the results of this investigation,” Abdrabboh said. “At that time, we will address three issues; The results and outcome of the investigation, Kroger’s role in the matter and how they dealt with the victim, and what Kroger, Dearborn Police and the community can do to better ensure their safety during these tense times of increased widespread Anti-Arab and Anti-Muslim rhetoric.”