A Muslim teen stands accused of stabbing his 13-year-old cousin in their townhouse

Faheem Abdul-Jaleel, 16, has been charged with first-degree assault, a felony. He called 911 from a security phone box more than 12 hours after his cousin Samina Qasim was found bleeding in a garage with multiple stab wounds to her chest and upper body. Abdul-Jaleel was taken into custody without incident and admitted to stabbing his cousin in the family’s garage after an argument. It was not known what the two argued about. Abdul-Jaleel, a student at Rush-Henrietta Central School District’s Ninth Grade Academy, lives with his cousin and other relatives in a townhouse in the Stonewood Village complex. Samina, a student at Burger Middle School in the Rush-Henrietta district, was home with her mother and a sibling when she was stabbed. It appeared that Samina was stabbed just before she was found by relatives. Samina’s mother attempted to take her daughter to Strong Memorial Hospital but was intercepted en route by a Henrietta ambulance that took her the rest of the way to the hospital. The girl was in critical condition. Abdul-Jaleel was arraigned in Henrietta Town Court and was remanded to the Monroe County Jail without bail. He is scheduled to return to court for a preliminary hearing. Numerous neighbors said that the family was from Afghanistan and have lived in the Stonewood Village complex for about five years. Abdul-Jaleel was born in Afghanistan.