Report: FBI opens hate crimes probe of suspect in car attack

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – The San Francisco Chronicle and KRON TV report that the FBI has opened a hate crimes investigation into an Iraq War veteran who police say injured eight people in Sunnyvale after he drove into a crowd of pedestrians because he thought some of the people were Muslim.

Isaiah Joel Peoples, 34, faces eight counts of attempted murder for injuring eight people, including four who remain hospitalized. He is being held without bail.

The most seriously injured is a 13-year-old Sunnyvale girl of South Asian descent who is in a coma with severe brain trauma.

His family says Peoples, a former U.S. Army sharpshooter, experienced post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq. Peoples’ attorney, Chuck Smith, says the crash was in no way deliberate.