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Somali-American Uber driver left critically injured in suspected Minnesota hate crime
Mohamed Yusuf, a Somali-American Uber driver, is in a coma and fighting for his life after an alleged assault by a passenger in Hopkins, Minnesota. His family says the attack appears to have been motivated by hostility towards his name and Somali identity; police are investigating.
According to Yusuf’s relatives, the passenger allegedly choked him, took control of the car and ran him over several times. Yusuf was found in a ditch with broken legs and ribs, collapsed lungs and a spinal injury. Police said a suspect was taken into custody and that the incident followed an Uber ride; Uber has banned the rider and offered to assist investigators.
In short
- Somali-American driver Mohamed Yusuf is in a coma after an alleged assault.
- His family says the passenger objected to his name.
- Police are investigating; Uber says it banned the rider.
Explained simply
Hopkins is a city in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area of Minnesota, a state in the US Midwest. Somali-Americans are people of Somali heritage who live in the United States; Minnesota is home to one of the country’s largest Somali communities.
Uber connects passengers with drivers through an app, and drivers may pick up people they have not met before. In the US, police investigate assaults, while authorities can also examine whether an alleged crime was motivated by prejudice; the term “hate crime” refers to an offence treated under specific laws as involving such a motive.
The case concerns the safety of app-based drivers and how police assess possible bias in an attack. Yusuf’s family, investigators and Uber each have different roles: relatives have described their concerns, police are examining the incident, and the company can provide information from the ride.
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by The Guardian as “Somali-American Uber driver brutally assaulted in alleged hate crime in Minnesota”.