Los Angeles, April 27
A California man who deliberately drove into a crowd of people, injuring eight, did so because he thought they were Muslim, police said Friday.
The driver, 34-year-old Isaiah Peoples, reportedly targeted the family solely on their appearance, according to police in Sunnyvale, near San Francisco, who are now treating the case as a “hate crime”.
“There is new evidence that Peoples intentionally targeted victims based on their race and belief that they were Muslim,” said Sunnyvale Public Security in a statement.
According to local media, three members of the same family are among the eight pedestrians injured on Tuesday — a father and his son and daughter.
The nationality and religion of the family have not been released.
