Two Sikh Teens Say They Were Targeted for Religion at Long Island Mall

Members of the Sikh community on Long Island are pushing for criminal charges after two teenage boys said they were harassed and attacked for their religion.

Yuvraj Bindra, 13, says he and his friend were at Walt Whitman Shops in South Huntington on May 29 when another group of teens started verbally assaulting them, believing that the two are Muslims. Bindra recalled one of the attackers saying, "Hey, Mohammed, come here. I'll knock that ball off your head."

Then the confrontation turned physical. One of the teens punched his friend, Chaz, in the face while others recorded the whole incident on their phone.

The teen who was punched didn't suffer serious injuries and the incident is being investigated as an Aggravated Harassment as a Hate Crime, according to Suffolk County police.