Still no charges in possible hate crime on Campus Corner
NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) — A Jewish man is demanding justice after he says he was nearly killed in a fight on Campus Corner.
News 4 first brought you this story on Monday. Since then, the victim Harrison Hipp is still waiting to see if there will be any charges filed.
Hipp says on Tuesday, Norman Police told him the case was closed because the fight was 'mutual combat'.
However, Wednesday morning he received another call that the case is back open and they're looking into robbery charges, since his cowboy hat and yarmulke were stolen.
Norman Police say the fight started after a stranger approached Hipp and asked to wear his cowboy hat.
Hipp said no and the altercation became physical.
The fight lasted around 30 minutes, according to Hipp.
"I just kept standing back up and every once in a while they would leave me alone. And I would say, 'Hey, I want my hat back' because that's my property, that's my hat, they stole it from me and then they would fight me and it's just fighting for my life and trying to get back what was stolen from me," said Hipp.
While Hipp would like to see assault and robbery charges, he believes he was targeted because he is Jewish and that this was a hate crime.
"Whenever I was getting kicked in the head with their boots on the ground and my head smashed into the ground on the concrete, they were calling me a dirty Jew," said Hipp.
Hipp says the group of strangers dispersed and left him bloody in the street.
His now fiancé drove him to the emergency room.
"His head hit the dashboard and I thought that he had died, like in the car," said Emily Rodriguez.
She also wants justice for Hipp and says she will stand by his side.
"He was nearly beat to death in the street, I don't think people like that should be just walking around without any repercussions," said Rodriguez.
News 4 reached out to the Norman Police Department and were told the case remains open and they expect there to be an update soon.