Euless woman allegedly made racist statements before attempting to drown 3-year-old, police say

EULESS, Texas - A woman is charged with attempted murder after she allegedly took a 3-year-old girl and tried to drown her at an Euless apartment complex pool. 

The Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Texas), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is asking state and federal authorities to investigate the incident as a hate crime.

Officers were called to the pool on Saturday, May 19 for a disturbance between two women.

Witnesses told police that 42-year-old Elizabeth Wolf was drunk and got into a fight with a woman before taking one of her young children and pulling her underwater.

Wolf was initially placed under arrest for public intoxication.

Police talked to the 32-year-old mother of the girl, who said Wolf came up to her and began asking where she came from and if the two children playing at the pool were hers.

When she said yes, Wolf allegedly grabbed the woman's 6-year-old son and pulled him away from her. He was scratched on the finger during the incident.

While the mother was helping her son, Wolf then allegedly grabbed the woman's 3-year-old daughter and forced her underwater.

Apartment resident Emma Aziz says she was at the pool that day.

"She was like, help me! She’s killing my baby, she’s killing my baby!" Aziz recalled.

Aziz says she called for a man to help save the girl while another person called 911.

"It was crazy, you know I was shaking, my son was there. Everybody was like really, really terrified," she said. 

The mother was able to grab the girl, who was yelling for help and coughing up water. 

Both children were later medically cleared by paramedics.

The mother of the children says during the incident Wolf made comments about her speaking another language, not being American and other racial statements.

CAIR says the mother of the children was wearing a hijab at the time of the incident.

"The police were called and as they were taking her away, she told her that she was going to kill her and her entire family," said Mustafaa Carroll, CAIR-Texas' Executive Director.

At a news conference on Saturday, Carroll read a statement released from the family.

"We are American citizens, originally from Palestine, and I don’t know where to go to feel safe with my kids. My country is facing a war, and we are facing that hate here. My daughter is traumatized; whenever I open the apartment door, she runs away and hides, telling me she is afraid the lady will come and immerse her head in the water again," the mother said in the statement.

Carroll says an incident like this impacts the entire Islamic community.

"It’s like opening a scab on a wound, it hurts every time it happens," he said.

Aziz is also an immigrant who came to the U.S. from West Africa. 

"I was giving my statement to the officer; I was weeping because it just dawned on me – this could happen to my child!" Aziz said.

For that reason, she plans to be there for this mother.

"I just want her to know that she’s not alone. People like us, if I see something like this, I will stand up to it, you know," Aziz said. 

Wolf is charged with attempted capital murder and injury to a child.

CAIR wants state and federal authorities to investigate the incident as a potential hate crime.

FOX 4 asked Euless police about the potential for hate crime charges. 

"It is believed to be an offense that was committed because of bias or prejudice and that is part of the case it has been filed with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office," the department said in a statement.

Since the incident, Wolf has bonded out of jail.

It's unclear if she also lived at the apartment complex.

The case is now in the hands of the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office.