A former University of Missouri graduate teaching assistant is accused of grabbing a teenage family member by the hair and pulling her out of school because she wasn't wearing a traditional headscarf worn by some Muslim women.
The Columbia Daily Tribune reports 53-year-old Youssif Omar was arrested Wednesday at his home on suspicion of felony child abuse. He was released from the Boone County Jail after posting $4,500 bond.
Police spokeswoman Latisha Stroer says officers were called to Columbia's Hickman High School Tuesday after Omar became irate when he noticed a 14-year-old family member not wearing a hijab.
Stroer says Omar grabbed the girl "very violently by the hair" and pulled her outside and down some stairs.
Omar didn't immediately respond to an email Sunday seeking comment.
CORRECTION: In a story Nov. 29 about a man accused of pulling a teenage family member out school because she wasn't wearing a traditional headscarf worn by some Muslim women, The Associated Press erroneously reported that the man is a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Missouri. The man's job as a graduate research assistant ended in July 14, 2015. The article and headline for this story have been changed to correct this error.
