A 7-year-old was found dead after drowning in a pool. Then a New York restaurant allegedly posted an anti-Muslim comment about it

A restaurant in New York called Taste of Italy is facing backlash after it reportedly posted an anti-Muslim comment following news of a young boy’s death. According to WNYT News Channel 13, Harbe Nagi, a 7-year-old was found dead after drowning in a pool. 

A screenshot shared on Reddit shows that the restaurant’s account wrote, “Let’s not forget that if that boy lived in a Muslim country, his Muslim family would have killed him a long time ago.” The comment went on to say that Muslims should return to their home countries, that their religion is “fake” and equal to terrorism, and that Muslims should not hold political power in the United States.

The comment was posted in response to news that the boy, who was reportedly autistic, had been found dead. The restaurant’s alleged response to that news has since drawn widespread criticism online. According to The Nerdstash, the backlash included efforts by online users to review-bomb the restaurant’s business page.

Online users respond with criticism and calls for a boycott

Reddit user Total-Repair9953 posted a screenshot of the comment on the subreddit r/upstate_new_york, which drew a wave of responses. One commenter wrote, “I literally cannot wait for these dips–t central/upstate red business owners to finally out themselves publicly.” Another said, “Gross people, who make gross food. Not surprised.”

The reason behind the restaurant’s post has not been confirmed. Some online users have suggested it may have been posted by mistake, while others have claimed it was intentional. “There is a lot of good Halal spots near their location. These folks are probably, among other things, jealous of the business success of their neighbors,” one Redditor theorized. The comment adds to a broader pattern of public figures making comments critical of Islam, which have drawn similar scrutiny online. 

The owner of the restaurant, however, has publicly denied making the comment. 

“I never posted that,” Frank Cappello, who owns the restaurant, told CBS 6. That said, the outlet also reports that Cappello’s wife, Alyssa, admitted that she made the comment without realizing that she was posting from the restaurant’s social media account. Taste of Italy later posted a public apology on Facebook. “The most saddest thing that happened today is not a post that was from my site it was that a poor innocent boy is dead, ” the caption reads. 

“Because of the news because Post everybody believes what they read but people don’t find the facts first on everything @@I love I did not post that today and I swear on everything I love I take full responsibility and I apologize to all the Muslims in the 518 and cross world if anybody knows me the people I have several Muslim friends and they know what my beliefs are but I take full responsibility for the post and I am very sorry to the people out there.”

“They got offended to it, but they are not my beliefs. I believe there’s bad in every religion but what we are concentrating on is everybody wants to burn me to the cross and they always look at all the bad I do not the good but you guys are totally wrong this time. God bless everybody and thanks for watching,” he said. The incident also comes amid separate reports of political tension in New York, including public criticism directed at Mayor Zohran Mamdani.