A San Antonio Police Department vehicle parks on a downtown street. Credit: Shutterstock / JHVEPhoto

Earlier this week, a Sonoma Ranch resident shared a video clip asking for help identifying a man she said pelted her mother’s car with rocks. Because the alleged victim, Dr. Sarah Samreen, was wearing a hijab, her daughter described the incident as an example of Islamophobia, and many on social media agreed.

After a one influencer shared the clip Sunday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, it racked up half a million views. State Sen. Jose Menendez and San Antonio Zoo CEO Tim Morrow even chimed in, asking the public for help identifying the alleged assailant.

However, in a statement released to the Current Tuesday, the San Antonio Police Department said it doesn’t consider the incident a hate crime.

“At the time, there are no factors that would indicate that a hate crime was committed,” the statement said. “The PRUE Area SAFFE unit has been made aware of at least one other similar criminal mischief incident in the area that did not indicate hate as a motive. We encourage anyone who has been a victim of criminal mischief to report it to the police.”

In a now-deleted Nextdoor app post, a resident of Sonoma Ranch described what may have been the previous incident to which police alluded. The poster said a man hurled four rocks at the windows of a residence on Candelaria Street after claiming a landscaper working at the home tried to trip him.

An image shared of the purported assailant, a bearded man wearing a ball cap, resembles one shared by Samreen’s daughter online.

Credit: Screenshot / Nextdoor

In an Instagram post, Samreen’s daughter disputed the version of events shared on Nextdoor, writing that the man began throwing rocks at the neighbor’s house because he didn’t like the Hispanic landscapers playing Spanish music.

The Current was unable to reach Samreen’s daughter for comment. Her Instagram account doesn’t give her full name, nor was it mentioned in a police report on the rock-throwing incident.

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This article appears in Nov 1-14, 2023.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...