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Muslim Woman Beaten At Bronx Bus Stop Accuses Officials Of Failing To Conduct Proper Investigation

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Muslim woman brutally beaten at a Bronx bus stop says she wasn't only robbed of her possessions, but also of justice.

She's accusing the District Attorney's office of refusing to prosecute her attackers.

Fatoumata Camara was getting off the Bx35 bus last month when a mob of teenagers started throwing punches at her face.

"They just started attacking me. They started calling me names," she told CBS2's Christina Fan. "With my stupid hair wrap, which is a hijab."

Camara says she was the victim of a hate crime so brutal, she suffered a broken nose and head injury.

Fatoumata Camara
Fatoumata Camara was getting off the Bx35 bus in May 2019 when a mob of teenagers started throwing punches at her face. (Credit Fatoumata Camara)

She said wasn't able to pick the suspects out from a photo lineup. That's when the DA told her they'd be dropping the charges.

"It was very, very upsetting and traumatizing because besides the mental and physical pain that I went through, for them not to do anything about my case and just leave it as my life didn't matter," Camara said.

The victim says the police never conducted a proper investigation. She was the one who eventually hunted down the surveillance video. She came to the DA's office Friday demanding answers.

"If I didn't do the fight myself, I knew they were just gonna let it go, and I know I was going to be another story of a black Muslim African out there," Camara said.

CBS2 tried catching up with Camara, who looked visibly drained after her meeting. Her attorney said after an hour-long talk, the DA's office made a commitment to start taking this case seriously.

"We stress to them that they have that they have to investigate the process. What happened? How was she allowed to be attacked in this manner, and four weeks later, they cannot identify a single person that attacked her," Ahmed Mohamed, with the Council on American Islamic Relations, said.

The DA's office sent CBS2 a statement Friday: "We did not dismiss the case; we deferred prosecution pending further police investigation. The police were not able to obtain ID of the suspects and closed the case. we called the victim yesterday to ask her to come in today for a meeting. That has taken place. We cannot comment further on a pending investigation."

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