Denver police are investigating an alleged assault at Washington Park and, more than two days after the reported attack, had not announced an arrest. CBS News Colorado identified the woman as Aisha. She said she was at the park with her baby and a friend during an encounter the day before; she returned the next day with her young children, when the man attacked her. In her interview with CBS News Colorado, she said she could not breathe while he choked her.
Aisha told CBS News Colorado that the man had made a derogatory comment about her faith the day before, including the words “killer Muslim. Allahu akbar,” and appeared to call her and her companions evil. Denver police say officers were called to South Franklin Street and East Kentucky Avenue at about 10:09 a.m. on Wednesday morning.
Aisha said the man choked her and then pushed her in the back. She began recording on her phone, which the man allegedly tried to take along with other property. Bystanders stepped in to protect her, police say, and the man ran away.
Hospital Exam and a Family Shaken
Aisha called police and was taken to a hospital, where a forensic nurse examined her. In her interview with CBS News Colorado, she said the incident has made her afraid to go outside and that her young children were traumatized.
Denver police say the case is now with their bias-motivated crime investigators. The department's flyer describes bias-motivated crimes as criminal acts against a person or property driven by an offender's bias against characteristics including race and color. No arrest had been made as of the latest update, and investigators are asking anyone with information to come forward.
Tips Sought as Search Continues
Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at (720) 913-7867. Denver Police's major-crimes page describes the remit of its bias-motivated crime detectives and provides information about the city's crime data, according to the City and County of Denver; no specific trend totals tied to this case have been released.
How bias motivation is assessed
Denver Police says its bias-motivated crime detectives investigate reported criminal acts against a person or property involving alleged bias against characteristics including religion. That describes the unit's investigative remit, not a finding about this case. Colorado's SB21-280 states that, for harassment that is bias-motivated or a bias-motivated crime, bias need only be part of a defendant's motivation—not the sole motive—according to the Colorado General Assembly.
The attack adds to a string of troubling incidents reported in and around Washington Park in recent months. In January, 9NEWS reported that runners near the park were on high alert and adjusting their routines after a January 7 attack, while KDVR separately reported that police were searching for a man accused of attempted kidnapping and aggravated assault nearby in the Platt Park neighborhood, an incident that happened just before 6 p.m. along East Louisiana Avenue at South Grant Street.
Bias-motivated attacks have drawn scrutiny from Denver investigators before. In February 2025, CBS News Colorado reported that three women carrying signs on their way to a demonstration were allegedly targeted by two male suspects in an attempted assault, a case that led to arrests. It remains unclear whether the investigation into Aisha's case will follow a similar path, as Denver's bias-motivated crime unit continues searching for the man she says attacked her in broad daylight at one of the city's most popular parks.
