FBI launches hate crime probe into army veteran suspected of anti-Muslim car attack

FBI launches hate crime probe into army veteran suspected of anti-Muslim car attack
US authorities have launched a hate crime probe into an Iraq veteran who is suspected of ploughing his car into a group of people he believed were Muslims.
1 min read
28 April, 2019
Isaiah Joel Peoples, 34, faces eight counts of attempted murder for injuring eight people

The FBI has opened a hate crimes investigation into an Iraq War veteran who police say injured eight people in Sunnyvale, California after he drove into a crowd of pedestrians because he thought some of the people were Muslim, according to local media.

Isaiah Joel Peoples, faces eight counts of attempted murder for injuring eight people, including four who remain hospitalised. He is being held without bail.

Peoples, 34, was on his way to a Bible study group when police say he crashed his car into the group of people walking on a pavement. Witnesses reported hearing the suspect saying something akin to thanking God or Jesus after the crash, according to CNN.

The most seriously injured is a 13-year-old Sunnyvale girl of South Asian descent who is in a coma with severe brain trauma.

His family says Peoples, a former US Army sharpshooter, experienced post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq. Peoples' attorney, Chuck Smith, claims the crash was in no way deliberate.