DETROIT — The FBI is helping to investigate the killing of an Iraqi American near San Diego, and the U.S. State Department has condemned the attack, saying “the United States has no tolerance for wanton acts of violence like this.”
DETROIT — The FBI is helping to investigate the killing of an Iraqi American near San Diego, and the U.S. State Department has condemned the attack, saying “the United States has no tolerance for wanton acts of violence like this.”
The involvement of two federal agencies after the death of Shaima Alawadi, 32, comes as concern about her killing grows. It has drawn condemnation from the U.S. to Iraq, where some officials also have voiced outrage. Across the U.S., some are holding “Hoodies and Hijabs” rallies this week, linking Alawadi’s case with that of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old African American slain in Florida while wearing a hoodie.
Alawadi, who wore the Islamic headscarf known as a hijab, died Saturday after being found beaten March 21 in her home in El Cajon, a city near San Diego with a sizable Iraqi-American community.
The FBI approached police, “offering any assistance we may need, and (the department) will be utilizing their resources as appropriate,” El Cajon Police Chief James Redman said in a statement. Redman said Alawadi was “discovered unconscious in the dining area of her residence, by her 17-year-old daughter.” The former Dearborn, Mich., resident suffered severe head injuries.
A note saying Alawadi was a terrorist and should go back to her country was found next to her body, family members and friends said.
“Based on the contents of the note, we are not ruling out the possibly that this may be a hate crime,” Redman said. “It was threatening in nature.” At the same time, Redman said, “a hate crime is just one aspect of what we are examining. We have not drawn any conclusions at this point.”
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland talked about the case Monday. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and the friends,” Nuland said. “U.S. law enforcement authorities are investigating all aspects of this horrific crime and taking all possible steps to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
The body of Alawadi, a U.S. citizen, is to be flown to Iraq for her funeral, said Imam Husham Al-Husainy of the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center in Dearborn. Her father is a Shiite cleric in Iraq, he said.
Alawadi was born in Iraq and moved to the U.S. in 1993 with her family, part of a wave of Shiite refugees who fled to the metropolitan Detroit area.
