Moment Spanish-speaking mother and her teenage daughter are ‘brutally’ attacked by woman who shouted ‘this is America’ and ‘go back to your country’ in Boston
- Mother and daughter were allegedly attacked for speaking Spanish in public
- They were on Boston street corner when approached by suspect shouting abuse
- ‘We were attacked, punched, kicked, and bitten,’ Ms Vasquez later said
- The alleged victims say they are now scared to speak Spanish in public
A mother and daughter were brutally attacked by a man on the street who shouted ‘this is America’ after hearing them speaking in Spanish, prosecutors allege.
The incident which took place in Boston on Saturday, February 15 is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
The mother, Ms Vasquez, alleges she and her daughter were walking near the Maverick Square public transit station in East Boston that evening when two white assailants approached and began assaulting them.
A mother and daughter were brutally attacked by a man on the street who shouted ‘this is America’ after hearing them speaking in Spanish, prosecutors allege
![Shocking video of the incident released by advocacy group Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston show the mother and daughter being approached by one of the female assailants, who was reportedly shouting 'this is America' and telling them to go back to 'your [expletive] country'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/26/11/25219984-8046445-image-a-22_1582717434769.jpg)
Shocking video of the incident released by advocacy group Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston show the mother and daughter being approached by one of the female assailants, who was reportedly shouting ‘this is America’ and telling them to go back to ‘your [expletive] country’
‘We were attacked, punched, kicked, and bitten. I’m having nightmares,’ Ms Vasquez (pictured) said
‘We were attacked, punched, kicked, and bitten. I’m having nightmares,’ Ms Vasquez said.
Shocking video of the incident released by advocacy group Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston show the mother and daughter being approached by one of the female assailants, who was reportedly shouting ‘this is America’ and telling them to go back to ‘your [expletive] country’.
The suspect then proceeds to hit out at Ms Vasquez who responds, and a fight ensues involving several people before officers from the Boston Police Department (BPD) arrive to break it up.
Ms Vasquez’s 15-year-old daughter was so badly injured she was left in a neck brace.
Since the attack, Ms Vasquez said she is afraid to take the train to work and her family is fearful of speaking Spanish in public.
The suspect then proceeds to hit out at Ms Vasquez who responds, and a fight ensues involving several people before officers from the Boston Police Department (BPD) arrive to break it up
Since the attack, Ms Vasquez said she is afraid to take the train to work and her family is fearful of speaking Spanish in public
‘My daughter is still wearing a neck brace and she’s having trouble sleeping. We are all very shaken,’ she added.
Janelle Dempsey, an attorney with Lawyers for Civil Rights, said: ‘This family’s experience was not an isolated event; acts of racism and xenophobia are alarmingly common in East Boston.’
She continued: ‘Most of the time, victims and witnesses are reluctant to speak out of fear and trauma. But the Vasquez family wants the police to hold the assailants accountable.’
According to the advocacy group, no arrests have yet been made in relation to the incident.