See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Vanessa Ogle
Brooklyn Daily
A man accused of attacking a pregnant Pakistani woman and her family in Marine Park has been charged with hate crimes.
Andrew Laina appeared in court Tuesday for a pre-trial hearing, charged with assaulting Shabana Chaudhry on Sept. 7 while she was pushing her two-year-old son in a stroller at the park’s cricket field on Avenue S and East 32nd Street, and then attacking her husband when he came to her aid.
Laina, who claims to be a Marine who served in Iraq, is also charged with hate crimes due to the racially charged nature of the attack.
Chaudhry was wearing a hijab and a traditional Pakistani gown when Laina allegedly approached her and asked her what she was doing in the park without her husband, according to a report from the district attorney’s office.
“What are you doing here? Where is your husband?” Laina allegedly said.
While Chaudhry was walking away, Laina reportedly stepped in front of her stroller. When Chaudhry’s husband, Muhammad Rizwan, asked Laina what the problem was, Laina allegedly said they didn’t belong in his neighborhood — and he told them they should leave — lacing his tirade with a mischaracterization of the Pakistani family’s race.
“You don’t belong here,” said Laina, according to a report. “What are you doing in my neighborhood? Get out, Arab.”
Laina then allegedly punched Rizwan several times in the chest, knocking him to the ground, and told the family to go back to Afghanistan, according to the police report.
As Chaudhry tried to walk away with her son, Laina allegedly tried to grab the baby from the stroller. When Rizwan told Laina not to touch his son, Laina reportedly pushed Rizwan into a parked car and punched him in the chest, according to court documents.
After his arrest, Laina reportedly told police that they should work with him, because the family members are terrorists, and he is a Marine who has killed more than a dozen people.
“We should work together — I am not the enemy,” said Laina, according to court records. “They are terrorists. I am a Marine, I was in Iraq. I killed 14 people.”
Laina is charged with multiple charges of assault, menacing, harassment and hate crimes, as well as child endangerment. His attorney could not be reached for comment.