‘Because I’m Jewish?’: Possible hate crime attack under investigation in Norman

NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) — The Norman Police Department is investigating a fight on Campus Corner that ended with a man in the hospital.

Harrison Hipp and his girlfriend were walking by Hideaway Pizza and that’s when a fun night turned violent.

A stranger approached Hipp and asked to try on his cowboy hat.

“I said, ‘No, this is my hat, you know, sorry,’ and I was polite about it,” said Hipp.

Hipp says the man and his friends became aggressive.

“I take off the hat and yarmulke and I start running and then he chases me and he says, ‘I’m going to get you, you dirty Jew.’ and I’m like panicking at this point because I know I’m going to get jumped,” said Hipp.

He says the group stole his hat and yarmulke and slammed his head against the concrete multiple times.

His girlfriend was also caught up in the fight

“I start trying to pull the original guy off of him and then I get thrown off of him and then a guy, grabs my arms and is like holding my arms, so I can’t do anything,” said Emily Rodriguez, Hipp’s girlfriend.

Hipp says the group left him bloody in the street and the next thing he remembers is waking up in the hospital.

He now has a long road to recovery. He was discharged with a concussion and a brain bleed.

“I’m real messed up, I can’t go to work, I can’t function and for what? You know, I don’t know, just because I’m Jewish? It’s ridiculous,” said Hipp.

Hipp believes this is a hate crime and that he was targeted because he is Jewish.

“Everybody that attacked me called me a dirty Jew, so I would like them all to be charged with hate crime,” said Hipp.

Norman Police received a 911 call and responded. However, they were unable to locate Hipp.

Officers later met him at the hospital.

Police say so far, no arrests have been made.

Officers have identified a possible suspect and all facts including allegations of a possible hate crime are part of the ongoing investigation.

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