Sketch released of suspect sought in alleged hit-and-run hate crime at Stanford University
Authorities in Santa Clara County, California, released a sketch Thursday of a suspect sought in connection with an alleged hit-and-run hate crime that occurred at Stanford University last week.
An Arab Muslim student at Stanford University was struck by an SUV on campus last Friday as he crossed an intersection, authorities said. The unidentified driver yelled "f--- you and your people" at the victim as he fled the scene, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office.
"The victim believed he was targeted by the suspect because of the shirt that he wore," the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Thursday, noting that the shirt had the word "Damascus" written in Arabic.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office opened a hate crime investigation into the incident. On Thursday, it released a sketch of the suspected driver based on a description provided by the victim. The suspect was described as an unshaven white man in his mid-20s wearing a gray top and prescription glasses, authorities said.
The suspect's vehicle was described as a black Toyota SUV with a tire mounted on the rear of the vehicle, authorities said.
"The Toyota SUV should have front passenger side bumper damage from the collision," the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said Thursday.
The victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the incident, authorities previously said.
The student, Abdul Omira, said the driver "made eye contact with him" and accelerated before striking him, according to a Thursday news release from Stanford's Department of Public Safety.
"I never imagined becoming the victim of a hate-driven attack," Omira previously said in a statement. "His hateful screams ... still echo in my ears."
Omira told ABC News by phone on Monday while recovering in the hospital that he recognized the suspect from a pro-Palestine sit-in on campus last month.
In the wake of the incident, Stanford police said last week that security had been upped at locations on campus and the university is "continuing to work to provide a safe and secure campus environment in the context of heightened tensions related to the events in Israel and Gaza."
"We are profoundly disturbed to hear this report of potentially hate-based physical violence on our campus," Stanford University President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez said in a letter to the community on Friday. "Violence on our campus is unacceptable. Hate-based violence is morally reprehensible, and we condemn it in the strongest terms. We want to express our deep concern for the student who was injured, and for all affected by this incident."
The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office asked anyone who witnessed the incident or with information to call 408-808-4500.
ABC News' Jennifer Watts, Alex Stone, Lisa Sivertsen, Emily Shapiro, Faith Abubey and Annie Pong contributed to this report.
