The teen, whose identity is being withheld for her protection, spoke Tuesday evening with her father's permission. She had just gotten on a packed Q88 bus in Flushing when a man she was standing next to started cursing at her and, because of the scarf she wore, referring to her Muslim faith.
"He kept cursing, terrorist and stuff," said the girl who is 5 feet 2 inches tall. He held his fist, and said "do you think I'm afraid to hit you? I will kill you," she said.
She called police who are now investigating what they describe as a clear hate crime. "He kept cursing … 'oh, you Muslim piece of ---- you're a terrorist.'"
He spit on her three times, she said. "He kept spitting."
When asked if anyone helped, she said, "They were laughing. What if that were your daughter? Wouldn't you stand up for her?"
The girl was afraid of him, she said, but also shocked that others on the bus didn't respond. "My body was shivering," she said.
The teenager describes him as a white, middle-aged man, about 5 feet, 7 inches tall. The man got off at Queens College, before she did.
