Dennis RomeroThe death of a Southern California woman from Iraq over the weekend set off a national furor, mostly via social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Shaima Alawadi, a 32-year-old Muslim woman, was beaten in her El Cajon home east of San Diego last week and died in a hospital Saturday, according to authorities and reports.
Her family said the second of two threatening notes was left after the attack:
One of the notes reportedly said, ” … Go back to your own country.”
El Cajon police say the mother of five was badly beaten in the home at 564 Skyview St. (across from a Middle School): She was discovered late Wednesday morning by her 17-year-old daughter.
According a statement from the department:
… A threatening note was discovered very close to where the victim was found. The victim's family stated they had found a similar note earlier this month, however did not report it to authorities.
Although we are exploring all aspects of this investigation, evidence thus far leads us to believe this is an isolated incident.
Cops told the San Diego Union-Tribune that, along with a homicide investigation, they have a possible hate crime on their hands.
Alawadi died Saturday after she was taken off of life support.
Credit: Shaima via Facebook
Twitter erupted with much chatter about Alawadi's death, including posts under hastags #RIPShaima and #JusticeForShaima.
A Facebook page, One Million Hijabs for Shaima Alawadi, had racked up nearly 3,000 “likes” over the weekend.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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