Driver charged with hate crime after trying to hit LGBTQIA runners with car in West Palm Beach: Cops

A driver is facing a hate crime charge after he was arrested for allegedly trying to strike members of a local LGBTQIA+ running club in West Palm Beach last month.

West Palm Beach police said they first responded to a park along the 1300 block of Parker Avenue around 8:20 p.m. on Nov. 24. There they found runners who reported that a man behind the wheel of a Ford Bronco SUV had tried to hit several members with his car.

Witnesses said the suspect, later identified as 43-year-old Ihab Mustafa El Mahmoud, then “accelerated toward the runners, making a second attempt to strike them” and “drove recklessly along sidewalks, through grass, and up an embankment before fleeing eastbound onto Okeechobee Boulevard.”

Police later saw the suspect allegedly pulling into a parking garage along the 700 block of North Dixie Highway and removing the vehicle’s license plate.

El Mahmoud was taken into custody without incident and is being held at the Main Detention Center.

Police said an investigation determined that the suspect “became upset over a perceived comment by a male member of the running club, leading to his agitation and subsequent actions.”

Authorities said El Mahmoud “perceived, knew or had reasonable grounds to perceive or know” one of the victim’s sexual orientation and intentionally selected the victim “because of that perception or knowledge.” 

The suspect is now accused of aggravated assault, reckless driving, and evidence of prejudice while committing aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to Palm Beach County records.