LOS ANGELES — A woman was recorded hurling racist insults and making offensive gestures towards a family with children on a shuttle bus at Los Angeles International Airport.
Pervez and Nicole Taufiq had traveled to Los Angeles with their three kids to celebrate Thanksgiving with relatives. It was during this trip that the woman’s disturbing outburst took place on the bus.
“Your family is from India. You have no respect. You have no rules. You think you can push everyone,” the woman said in the video.
While giving the middle finger, the woman went on to say: “You guys are f—— crazy.”
The parents explained that the woman’s erratic behavior had actually begun when she was seated near their 11-year-old son on a United Airlines flight. Pervez Taufiq recounted to ABC Los Angeles affiliate KABC how the woman confronted their son, inquiring about his ethnicity and asking if he was Indian.
After arriving at LAX and getting on a shuttle bus, one of the children pointed out the planes on the tarmac.
“He’s obsessed with planes because we travel a lot for work, and then she targeted our 4-year-old and the 8-year-old and said: ‘Shut up, just shut up,'” Pervez recalled.
During the rant, the unidentified woman went on to tell Pervez he’s not American.
“You’re not American… not originally. You’re from f—— India,” she said.
When Pervez told her he was born in America, the woman responds by saying “No, you weren’t.”
The family’s 11-year-old son is having a hard time understanding the situation. The parents said they had to tell him he didn’t do anything wrong.
With the help of United workers, the woman eventually got off the shuttle. One employee told the family she might end up on a no-fly list.
Nicole Taufiq said people witnessing the encounter didn’t step in to help.
“The silence of all the bystanders was really deafening,” Nicole said. “I know people don’t like being in uncomfortable situations, but the silence really in some way was like siding with the aggressor.”
United said it had no additional information to share when reached for comment.
The family said they are hoping to identify the woman because they are looking to press charges.
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