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Stories Differ On Muslim Girl's Woes At St. Pete School

By MARK DOUGLAS and JOSH POLTILOVE, News Channel 8 The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 14, 2007

When asked Friday by an assistant principal, a sixth-grade Azalea Middle School student denied being told by a classmate that he would bring a gun and kill her, according to a St. Petersburg police report.

On Monday, the 11-year-old girl, Hannah, told reporters she was afraid to go to back to school after a boy pulled off her Islamic head scarf, and the next day threatened to kill her.

Hannah, her parents and Council on American-Islamic Relations spokesman Ahmed Bedier said administrators didn't question the girl about a threat last week.

Police spokesman Bill Proffitt said the preliminary report states that Hannah was questioned by an assistant principal Friday morning and said she was not threatened.

School administrators say the threat reported Thursday by Hannah's parents involved a BB gun and that the boy's parents said he does not own one, Proffitt said.

Police generally get involved whenever there is a gun incident at a school, but it can go either way when the incident involves a BB gun, Proffitt said.

On Tuesday, Bedier said the girl doesn't know a BB gun from a firearm. He also said Hannah stood by the story she told him and the media.

Bedier said the boy didn't say anything against Muslims, so there's no way yet to know whether the harassment was directed at Hannah solely because of her religion. He said Hannah is the only girl in the school who wears a hijab.

She took her concerns Tuesday to the Pinellas County School Board.

"To me as a Muslim, it's just as embarrassing and offensive as any girl having her skirt ripped off," Hannah told the board members. "The teacher told me to just go to the bathroom and fix it. I was so upset, I could not stop crying."

The superintendent promised an investigation.

Proffitt could not explain why the school resource officer was not notified until Monday.

Reporter Mark Douglas can be reached at mdouglas@wfla.com or (727) 536-8443. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (813) 259-7691 or jpoltilove@tampatrib.com.

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