A 12-year-old girl wearing a hijab was hospitalized after being punched in the face during a rapid series of anti-Muslim attacks in Brooklyn, police said, as authorities announced the arrest of a Staten Island woman now facing multiple hate crime charges.
The attacks unfolded in Bay Ridge — a neighborhood with a large Muslim population — over a span of just 11 minutes on Friday, Jan. 30, according to police and local officials. Investigators say three victims, all Muslim, were assaulted in quick succession.
Police arrested Megan Horne, 34, on Wednesday and charged her with 21 counts including assault, aggravated assault, menacing, and acting in a manner injurious to a child. Six of the charges are classified as hate crimes, court records show.
The first reported attack occurred around 2:25 p.m., when a 33-year-old woman wearing a hijab was near 89th Street and Fifth Avenue. Police said the suspect approached her, pushed and kicked her, and made anti-Muslim remarks.
Minutes later, the attacker allegedly pushed a 39-year-old hijab-wearing woman as she tried to board a bus on 92nd Street, roughly four blocks away.
The final and most alarming assault happened shortly afterward near Fort Hamilton Parkway, where the 12-year-old girl was waiting with her school’s assistant principal to be picked up. Authorities said the girl was punched so hard that her eye began bleeding, requiring hospital treatment.
“The poor little girl was scared to go to school for a few days,” said Councilwoman Kayla Santosuosso, who represents the area and spoke with the child’s family.
Bay Ridge residents say the attacks have rattled the community, often referred to as “Little Yemen” or “Little Palestine” because of its large Arab American and Muslim population. Mosques line many of the neighborhood’s streets, and families say the violence has left them feeling unsafe.
“This violence is unacceptable,” said Mayor Zohran Mamdani in a statement on X. Gov. Kathy Hochul also condemned the attacks as “disgusting” and “Islamophobic.”
Marwa Janini, executive director of the Arab American Association of New York, said the assaults reflect a broader climate of fear for visibly Muslim women and girls.
“All too often, hijab-wearing women and children bear the brunt of this hatred,” Janini said, adding that the recent violence has left many in the community feeling vulnerable.
Police data shows that while overall hate crimes in New York City declined in 2025 compared with the previous year, incidents targeting Muslims spiked sharply last month. In January alone, seven anti-Muslim hate crimes were reported — compared with none during the same period a year earlier.
Horne was scheduled to be arraigned in Kings County Criminal Court on Thursday. Police have not released details about how she was identified as the suspect, and no attorney has yet been listed on her behalf.
