12-year-old boy cited for hate crime, battery in California

MODESTO, Calif. (AP) — A 12-year-old boy in California has been cited for a hate crime and battery after allegedly attacking his classmate with sticks and using racial slurs while they waited for the school bus.

Eighth-grader NuPhaeya Hassen says the boy approached her Aug. 24, holding the sticks while saying he was a Ku Klux Klan member and raised as a "skinhead." He then hit her with the sticks.

NuPhaeya told The Modesto Bee she responded by slapping the boy, who then threw rocks at her. She says the boy's older sister also assaulted her after school.

A police spokeswoman says the sister will also be cited.

The local NAACP chapter is questioning the Modesto City Schools' handling of the matter. NuPhaeya's grandmother says the girl unfairly received a one-day suspension for defending herself.