A DuPage County judge on Thursday ordered a Lombard man held in custody pending trial after authorities accused him of threatening to shoot two Muslim men outside his suburban apartment building.
Larry York, 46, faces two counts of hate crime, a Class 4 felony, for the Tuesday night incident outside the West Point apartments, according to a news release from the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.
One of the victims arrived at the apartment complex on South Finley Road around 8:30 p.m. and was waiting inside a vehicle for the second victim to arrive when York appeared, asking what the man was doing there, according to the prosecutors. York then began cursing, telling the man he did not belong in this country and to leave.
York then allegedly entered the building complex’s lobby and began yelling at and threatening the second victim after he exited an elevator. A short time later, while one of the victims was sitting on a bench outside the complex, York then allegedly lifted one end of a bench, causing the man to fall to the ground.
York told the men that he called four friends over to shoot them, saying “(expletive) you (expletive) Muslim (expletive),” according to prosecutors. ” Get the (expletive) out of here. I’ll shoot you.”
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Lombard police arrested York the next day at an area bar without incident, officials said.
Since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in Israel that left about 1,400 Israelis dead and almost 200 taken hostage, religious and community leaders have sought calm, fearing a rise of attacks targeting Muslims and Jewish people. The recent stabbing death of Wadea al-Fayoume, 6, in unincorporated Will County heightened those fears.
Also on Thursday, the principal of the Aqsa All-Girl Muslim School in Bridgeview sent a letter to parents announcing that pupils would work from home on Friday after the school received “a threatening hate letter.” Principal Tammie Ismail did not provide any details about the letter, adding that the school had been on “soft lockdown” throughout the week. Bridgeview police confirmed that they were involved, but offered no other details.
“Hate crimes have no place in a civilized society,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a joint statement with Lombard police Chief Tom Wirsing. “The allegations against Mr. York are extremely disturbing and in DuPage County we have no tolerance whatsoever for such vitriolic actions, as alleged in this case.
Following announcement of the charges, the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations thanked police and decried rising reports of bias crimes. “We thank law enforcement for swiftly apprehending and charging the suspect in this disturbing incident. This is a standard to follow if we are to stand a chance of deterrence,” CAIR executive director Ahmed Rehab said in a statement.
“CAIR-Chicago has been inundated with hate incidents not seen since 9/11. There is widespread palpable apprehension in the community,” said Rehab, pledging to hold a news conference next week discussing an uptick in reports of hate.
York is scheduled to be arraigned early next month.