Ill. 8th grader charged with hate crime in school assault

CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. – An eighth grader was charged with a felony for his part in an alleged hate crime in a northwest Illinois suburban school, reports CBS Chicago.

Omid Babakhani, 13, suffered two broken collarbones after being attacked Tuesday by a fellow eighth grader in the hallway at Hannah Beardsley Middle School in Crystal Lake, Ill.

The boy says the attack started with a racial slur and an insult about his mother.

“I heard, ‘Hey Persian’ from behind me,” Omid said. He said he tried to walk away but was assaulted.

“[The attacker] put me in a headlock and slammed me to the ground and repetitively started punching my head,” said Omid.

The boy’s mother, Melissa Babakhani, is looking for answers from police – who arrested the alleged attacker – and school officials. “Omid doesn’t bother anyone. He is a good kid,” she said.

The victim says that community support has been wonderful since the attack, with well-wishers offering support and, in one case, cookies. A competitive swimmer, Omid is unsure when he will be well enough to compete.

“It’s heartbreaking, but what can you do? You have to deal with it,” said Omid’s father, Ben Babakhani.

The family is chiefly concerned with the attack on the boy’s ethnicity.

Omid believes the incident is a hate crime because “of how [the attacker] said it to me and that he kept coming after me.”

“He has to be held accountable for his actions,” said Melissa Babakhani.

Charges against the attacker were upgraded Tuesday afternoon, according to Crystal Lake Police. The suspect is now facing felony hate crime and aggravated felony charges and is in custody at a juvenile detention facility.

School officials say they have been fully cooperating with police.