Hate crime charges for a woman who police say went on a violent rampage targeting Muslims in Brooklyn.

What You Need To Know

All three attacks happened within 11 minutes and a few blocks of each other last Friday, Jan. 30

City Councilmember Kayla Santosuosso said all three victims were wearing hijabs, and the attacker told each of them to, “Go back to their country”

According to the latest NYPD crime statistics, there were seven anti-Muslim hate crimes reported last month compared to zero in January 2025

According to police, 34-year-old Megan Horne of Staten Island attacked three victims in Bay Ridge last Friday, all within 11 minutes of each other.

The NYPD said Horne approached a 33-year-old woman at 89th Street and Fifth Avenue at 2:25 p.m., pushed and kicked her, and made anti-Muslim remarks.

“When we make progress as a society, there will always be a backlash and while so many of us are thrilled about breaking barriers and having our first Muslim mayor, there are many, many people who unfortunately have bias-based and hatred-based feelings about that. And so, unfortunately, sometimes we see incidents like this grow out of that,” City Councilmember Kayla Santosuosso, who represents the area, said.

Minutes later, Horne allegedly pushed a 39-year-old woman who was trying to board a bus on 92nd Street, according to the police. Horne’s last stop was outside a nearby school where police say she punched a 12-year-old girl in the face.

Santosuosso said the attacker told all three victims to, “Go back to their country.”

“Actually, I’ve been told that myself. I am an immigrant myself, and I think it’s something, doesn’t have to be a man, woman, almost all immigrants face this kind of stuff and it has to stop,” said Syed, a Bay Ridge resident and Pakistani immigrant.

According to the latest NYPD crime statistics, there were seven anti-Muslim hate crimes reported last month compared to zero in January 2025.

Santosuosso also said she is steadfast in protecting and advocating for her constituents.

“No matter what barriers we’re breaking and no matter how much progress we make, we still need to make sure that we’re taking care of people and making sure that we’re reaffirming that we won’t tolerate something like this in any neighborhood,” she said.

All three victims are expected to recover from their wounds, according to officials. Meanwhile, Horne is charged with assault, aggravated harassment and acting in a manner injurious to a child, all as hate crimes.