PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh police say there’s no evidence yet that the beating of a Somali immigrant cab driver was a hate crime.
The man, whose name isn’t being released, was critically injured and may have been robbed before he was found about 5 a.m. Tuesday in the city’s Beltzhoover neighborhood.
Assistant Police Chief Lavonnie Bickerstaff says there’s “no evidence” the incident was a hate crime, and said police continued to investigate. The victim was driving a zTrip cab when he was attacked.
Betty Cruz, director of Change Agency, an organization that helps advance immigrant integration, says the victim is a member of Pittsburgh’s Somali Bantu and Muslim communities.
Bickerstaff spoke at a news conference called at the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, where the victim’s family also discussed the beating.
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