Texas Woman Sentenced Five Years Attempted Drowning Palestinian Muslim Toddler

Elizabeth Wolf, a Texas woman, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder and injury to a child for trying to drown a 3-year-old Palestinian-American Muslim girl in a racially motivated attack at an apartment pool in Euless, Texas. The incident, which occurred in May 2024, involved Wolf making racist remarks and attempting to drown the girl while also trying to grab the girl's 6-year-old brother, who managed to escape. The children's mother, who was wearing a hijab, intervened to save her children, and a bystander also helped rescue the toddler. Wolf was initially arrested on a public intoxication charge but later re-arrested with more serious charges after the Council on American-Islamic Relations called for a hate crime investigation. The case highlights growing concerns about rising threats and violent incidents targeting American Muslims, Arabs, and Jews following the Israel-Gaza conflict. The sentencing came through a plea agreement, with the top charge of attempted capital murder waived in exchange for the guilty plea and credit for time served.