A man drove a sport-utility vehicle into six people in North Carolina who were described as migrant workers in what “appears to be an intentional assault”, police have said.
Investigators in Lincolnton – about 35 miles north-west of Charlotte – are hunting the driver of the car, who fled the scene. All six victims were taken to hospital after the apparent attack, which unfolded on Sunday afternoon.
Police made it a point on Sunday to say the motive for the reported assault remained under investigation.
Nonetheless, it came at a time of intense political rhetoric related to immigrants and immigrant workers. A hardline stance on immigration has become essential among Republican candidates for president, and 2024 White House hopefuls – including Donald Trump – repeatedly rail against migrants in campaign speeches.
In a statement, Lincolnton police department said six people were struck by a car at about 1.17pm local time Sunday.
“All six were transported to Atrium Health – Lincoln with various injuries,” police said. “None of the injuries appear to be life-threatening.”
The statement appealed for the public to help track down the driver and the car.
“The vehicle is an older model mid-size black [SUV] with a luggage rack,” police said. “The driver was described as an older white male.”
In May, a man was charged with manslaughter after plowing into a crowd outside a migrant center in Brownsville, Texas, a community on the border with Mexico.
Witnesses reported that the driver in the Texas case shouted anti-immigration sentiments, including that immigrants were invading the US.
“He said, ‘Damn your mother, immigrants’,” Freddy Granadillo, who migrated to Texas from Venezuela, told the Guardian.
“Leave my country,” he recalled the driver saying.
