St. Louis Police Investigating Possible Hate Crime After Armed Black Males Allegedly Drag Woman Out of Her Car

Police are investigating a possible hate crime in St. Louis after three black males reportedly dragged a 26-year-old white, Bosnian woman from her car before assaulting and attempting to rob her early on Friday, CBS St. Louis reports.

The woman was driving at around 5:30 a.m. when three black males in their late-teens to early-20s walked out in front of her vehicle, the police report states. She first attempted to steer her vehicle around the teens, but she stopped after the men allegedly brandished a gun.

One of the suspects allegedly struck the woman’s windshield with a crowbar before the gang of suspects reportedly dragged her from the car and threw her to the ground. The men then allegedly kicked her and went through her purse, but they didn’t find anything they were looking for.

The three suspects asked the woman if she was Bosnian, leading investigators to probe the case as a potential hate crime, police said.

All of the suspects fled the scene of the crime and remain at large.

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay said the crime “has all the appearances of a hate crime based on the information that we have” and all relevant information has been given to the FBI.

Disturbingly, a 32-year-old man was also brutally murdered in a hammer attack in the Bosnian neighborhood.

According to CBS St. Louis, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department released a description of the incident:

Incident: Robbery 1st

Location: 4600 block of Lansdowne

Date/Time: 12/5/14 @ 05:25

Victim: 26-year old white female

Suspect(s): Three unknown black males, late teens-early 20s
The victim stated she was driving in the 4600 block of Lansdowne when three unknown suspects walked in front of her vehicle. When the victim attempted to drive around them, the suspects displayed a firearm and ordered her to stop her vehicle, to which she complied. One of the suspects then approached the driver’s side, produced an object, possibly a crowbar, and struck the windshield of her vehicle. The suspects then ordered the victim to exit her vehicle. The victim refused and one of the suspects pulled her out of the car. During this time, another suspect opened the passenger side door of the vehicle, went through the victim’s purse and stated that it was empty. One of the suspects then pushed the victim to the ground and kicked her. All three suspects then fled the scene. A passerby located the victim on the ground and contacted this department. EMS responded, however the victim refused further medical treatment and said she would respond to a hospital at a later time. As of now, officers are investigating this incident as a “bias crime” based on the victim’s account of the incident. The investigation is ongoing.

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