A woman from Iraq who was found beaten next to a threatening note saying “go back to your country” has died, and police are investigating the possibility of a hate crime. Hanif Mohebi, the director of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Shaima Alawadi was taken off life support Saturday afternoon. “The family is in shock at the moment. They're still trying to deal with what happened,” said Mohebi, who met with family members. Alawadi, a 32-year-old mother of five, had been hospitalized since her 17-year-old daughter found her unconscious in the dining room of the family's suburban San Diego house Wednesday, police Lt. Steve Shakowski said. “A hate crime is one of the possibilities, and we will be looking at that,” Lt. Mark Coit said. “We don't want to focus on only one issue and miss something else.” The daughter, Fatima Al Himidi, told KUSI-TV her mother had been beaten on the head repeatedly with a tire iron, and that the note said “go back to your country, you terrorist.” Addressing the camera, the tearful daughter asked: “You took my mother away from me. You took my best friend away from me. Why? Why did you do it?” Police said the family had found a similar note earlier this month but did not report it to authorities. Al Himidi told KGTV-TV her mother dismissed the first note, found outside the home, as a child's prank. Alawadi's two sons and three daughters range in age from 8 to 17. A family friend, Sura Alzaidy, told UT San Diego that the attack apparently occurred after the father took the younger children to school. Alzaidy told the newspaper the family is from Iraq, and that Alawadi is a “respectful modest muhajiba,” meaning she wears the traditional hijab, a head scarf.
