The woman was charged with assault and terroristic threats. The incident is still being investigated by the Plano Police Department’s Crime Against Persons Unit.
PLANO, Texas — Rani Banerjee said she and three of her friends had just finished dinner at Sixty Vines in Plano when a woman confronted them in the parking lot, as seen in a now-viral video.
“Suddenly, we heard this woman yelling at us and started coming toward us. We were shocked by the racial slurs that she used and combative attitude,” said Banerjee.
Banerjee started recording the incident with her phone. The woman, who was identified by Plano police as Esmeralda Upton, shouted racial slurs and began hitting Banerjee.
“Go back to India, we don’t want you here,” Upton could be heard saying on the video.
“What was so very scary is she came very close and not only verbally assaulted us but started physically assaulting us. She started hitting me,” said Banerjee.
Upton, who identified herself as Mexican-American, told the group in the video that she “hated Indians.”
Warning: The video has some graphic and racist language.
The group feared for their safety and called 911. Plano officers responded within minutes.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the incident and called on police to charge the woman.
“The level of vitriol and alleged physical assault against four Indian-American women in Plano is truly appalling,” said Faizan Syed, executive director of CAIR-DFW. “This type of hate has no place in North Texas, and we call on law enforcement to investigate this incident as a hate crime.”
“As a Mexican-American, I’m appalled that someone would dare use my people’s name to spread hate,” said Nahela Morales, a Mexican-American and Board Member of CAIR-DFW. “As people of color, we need to stand together in solidarity to build bridges of love and understanding, not to bring each other down. To the women in the video, I want to say you don’t speak for our community or me; shame on you. I encourage you to learn about the shared culture between South Asians and Mexicans.”
Upton was charged with assault bodily injury and terroristic threats. She has a $10,000 bond.
The incident is still being investigated by the Plano Police Department’s Crime Against Persons Unit as a hate crime and more charges may be forthcoming, Plano Police said.