FRANKLIN, Mich., Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A Michigan State University student was recovering at his home Tuesday after having surgery for a broken jaw his family said was a hate crime.
The mother said two men at a party asked if her son, Zachary Tennen, was Jewish, gave a Nazi salute, knocked her son out then stapled his mouth as about 20 people watched, the Detroit Free Press reported.
"It's an awful hate crime, and what he's gone through emotionally and physically, it's scary to put it into words," mother Tina Tennen said from the family home in Franklin, Mich. "Hopefully the worst is behind us. It's going to be hopefully not too rough."
Her son said none of the party-goers came to his aid as he was attacked.
The family filed a police report with East Lansing Police, the Free Press said.
Although the attackers' identities are not known, Tina Tennen said, "I hope that they get prosecuted, go to jail. You hear about it in the news, but I guess it's something that you think never will happen to you."
She said her son hopes to return to MSU in about a week.
"The school's been involved; we've been in touch with them," she told the Free Press. "They've outreached to us. But we're still trying to find [the attackers]. The job isn't done."
