Earlier this week, an American woman threatened to kill all Muslims after she got into a parking dispute with three Somali-American women, The Independent reported.
Amber Hensley shouted out expletives at Rowda Soyan, Sarah Hassan and Laleyla Hassan in the carpark of a Walmart in Fargo, North Dakota because "she believed they had parked too close to her car."
21-year-old Hassan managed to record a video of the racist attack.
In it, Hensley is seen leaning into the window of the car the three women were in while shouting shocking, racist remarks.
After she told them "to go back to their country," she said:
"We're going to kill all of you, we're going to kill every one of you f****** Muslims."
When Hassan warned she was going to report the incident to the police, Hensley replied with: “Do you think the police care?”
The video later went viral on social media and was also sent to police.
A shocking attack
People expressed their outrage on social media
"This must be stopped"
Many were "utterly ashamed"
Nothing justifies this
Hensley issued an apology
Hensley, who was reportedly fired from her job at accountancy firm Horab & Wentz in the wake of the incident, subsequently issued an apology for her behavior in a statement to KVVR News.
In her statement, she explained that she was “terribly sorry” for threatening the women but also defended herself saying she was reacting to insulting comments they had made against her.
“I just wish the whole video could be shown. And the things that were stated before she starts taping. She had parked way too close to my car and I couldn’t get in, when I asked her to move she refused, I asked her again and she swore at me calling me a fat b—-, to that I informed her that I was a Christian and asked her if she knew who Jesus was, she said F— JESUS and I lost it," Hensley said.
"But, there are absolutely no excuses. I am in tears with regret and will take any form of punishment deemed fit," she added.
According to The Independent, Hassan, one of the three women attacked, "refuted Hensley’s version of events, claiming Hensley initiated the insults and saying they would never insult Jesus in the way she described."
People had a lot to say about the apology as well
"This is the power of dialogue"
In the days following the incident, the women seem to have reconciled and a photo of them posing with a police officer is now making the rounds online.
Many on social media are sharing the image to highlight the importance of challenging hate through promoting dialogue between people of different races and faiths.
This is especially important at a time when hate crimes against minorities and Muslims continue to rise.
Earlier this year, a study >revealed that 2016 was a "banner year for hate," and a lot of that hate was targeted towards Muslims.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, 2016 saw the >highest number of anti-Muslim hate groups and the greatest surge in the number of such groups since the center began documenting them in 2010.
Other studies >revealed that Anti-Muslim hate groups increased by 197 percent over the course of one year.
There were 34 anti-Muslim hate groups in the U.S. in 2015. That number tripled to a whopping 101 groups in 2016, a surge of 197 percent – the greatest increase among all hate groups.