TUKWILA, Wash. - 37 year old Jennifer Leigh Jennings of Burien has been charged with malicious harassment for verbally and physically attacking two women Saturday at a Tukwila gas station.
"It was humiliating," says Imaan, one of the women who says she was attacked.
Imaan and her aunt Maryon, who are Somali, were buying gas at the Arco station at 154th and International Boulevard when Imaan says Jennings walked up to them and called them a terrorist.
"She was saying you're a suicide bomber and you don't know how to pump gas. You need to go back to your own country!" says Imaan.
According to Imaan Jennings then went to the driver's side and slammed the door on her aunt Maryon's foot as she was trying to get out of the car.
"I said ‘hey, don't do that’ and then she yelled at me and pushed me."
Imaan says there were people standing around but no one did anything.
"I pulled out my cell phone and called police. It really hurt me that no one stepped in to help," Imaan said.
Maryon says Jennings pulled off a part of her head scarf, exposing her hair.
"It was scary," says Maryon as she held back tears.
Police were called and after talking with the women and witnesses, they arrested Jennings who also stayed and talked with authorities.
"She said she was upset with these women because of their nationality. We classify that as malicious harrassment," says Tukwila police spokesman Mike Murphy.
Jennings was booked and released.
The King County Prosecutors Office is charging her with the crime of malicious harassment, a hate crime. She will be arraigned on November 2nd.
"I just want her off the streets so she doesn't do this to anyone else," says Imaan. "We're now afraid and I want people to know that we are Americans. We love this country and we are hurt."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is also calling for the FBI to step in and file hate crime charges against Jennings.
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