Mom, Daughter 'Brutally Attacked' For Speaking Spanish: Lawyers

BOSTON — A mother and her teenage daughter were attacked by two white women for speaking Spanish near an East Boston train station, according to a legal advocacy group.

A woman identified as Ms. Vasquez was with her 15-year-old daughter near Maverick Station the evening of Feb. 15 when "unprovoked" they were "brutally assaulted," according to Lawyers for Civil Rights.

"We were attacked, punched, kicked, and bitten," she said in a release by the group. "I'm having nightmares. I’m afraid to take the train to work, and my family is afraid to speak Spanish in public."

Her daughter is still in a neck brace, she said.

Lawyers for Civil Rights released video of the incident obtained from a nearby business. Two women can be seen crossing the street and hitting Vasquez, who retaliates before a larger fight breaks out.

A police report obtained by The Boston Globe said the two women who crossed the street admitted to having been drinking "and acting belligerent."

Boston police told the Globe no arrests have been made, but the incident is being investigated as a potential hate crime.

Lawyers for Civil Rights said police did not formally interview Vasquez and her daughter until legal counsel got involved.

"This family’s experience was not an isolated event; acts of racism and xenophobia are alarmingly common in East Boston," said Janelle Dempsey, an attorney with Lawyers for Civil Rights. "Most of the time, victims and witnesses are reluctant to speak out of fear and trauma. But the Vasquez family wants the police to hold the assailants accountable."