Port St. Lucie police are investigating whether an incident at Belad Al Sham Mid East Market, initially reported as vandalism, could also be classified as a hate crime. The store owner said the incident occurred Saturday afternoon and shared surveillance footage showing an unidentified woman allegedly placing what appeared to be pork-based food products along the front sidewalk of the store. “We did nothing wrong; what’s the point of this? I have no idea,” owner Hiba Sharifeh said. Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 NewsShe said the act appeared deliberate and expressed confusion about the motive. “Now this was obviously intentional. I don’t know what I did to this person. I don’t even know who this person is. There was no need to do something like that,” Sharifeh said. The owner said the woman returned shortly after the initial incident, bringing another person to the store. “After she dumped the food, you catch her again on my video camera bringing another woman about 25 minutes later to show her what she did, and from the recording, it sounds to me like what she said was, ‘We deserve more than this,'” Sharifeh said. Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.The store owners, who are Muslim, noted that eating pork is prohibited in Islam. The communications director of the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR-Florida, Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, welcomes the swift response by law enforcement”People who try to espouse this type of hate crime want to send a wrong message: Muslims do not belong; Muslims are not part of our fabric. They are late to claim that because we are already very much part of the American fabric and the Florida fabric as well,” Ruiz said. “I was born and raised in South Florida. I’m a Floridian. Yes, I speak the language. Yes, I grew up in the culture in my household. But I did nothing to you. Why are you doing this to me?” Sharifeh said. Police confirmed the investigation is ongoing.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. —
Port St. Lucie police are investigating whether an incident at Belad Al Sham Mid East Market, initially reported as vandalism, could also be classified as a hate crime.
The store owner said the incident occurred Saturday afternoon and shared surveillance footage showing an unidentified woman allegedly placing what appeared to be pork-based food products along the front sidewalk of the store.
“We did nothing wrong, what’s the point of this? I have no idea,” owner Hiba Sharifeh said.
Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News
She said the act appeared deliberate and expressed confusion about the motive.
Capture from viewer-submitted video
Surveillance footage shows a woman allegedly placing pork products outside Belad Al Sham Mid East Market, a Port St. Lucie market owned by Muslims, prompting police to investigate whether the act was a hate crime.
“Now this was obviously intentional. I don’t know what I did to this person. I don’t even know who this person is. There was no need to do something like that,” Sharifeh said.
The owner said the woman returned shortly after the initial incident, bringing another person to the store.
“After she dumped the food, you catch her again on my video camera bringing another woman about 25 minutes later to show her what she did, and from the recording, it sounds to me like what she said was, ‘We deserve more than this,'” Sharifeh said.
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
The store owners, who are Muslim, noted that eating pork is prohibited in Islam.
The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations or CAIR-Florida Communications Director Wilfredo Amr Ruiz welcomes the swift response by law enforcement
“People who try to espouse this type of hate crimes want to send a wrong message: Muslims do not belong; Muslims are not part of our fabric. They are late to claim that because we are already very much part of the American fabric and the Florida fabric as well,” Ruiz said.
“I was born and raised in South Florida. I’m a Floridian. Yes, I speak the language. Yes, I grew up in the culture in my household. But I did nothing to you. Why are you doing this to me?” Sharifeh said.
Police confirmed the investigation is ongoing.