LUCAS Pollard is too scared to drive his car after being the victim of vicious racial abuse when he was mistaken for a Muslim in Ashmore on Thursday.

The 19-year-old Kiwi was on his way to pick up his 11-year-old brother when he stopped at traffic lights at the intersection of Wardoo Street and Benowa Road about 6.30pm.

A carload of men pulled up next to Lucas and began hurling abuse out the window of their white Holden Commodore and threatening to behead him.

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The incident has shocked police and left Lucas and his family fearing another attack on him or others.

“I was driving to pick my 11-year-old brother up from karate and they pulled up next to me and just began yelling abuse,” Lucas said.

“They were calling me a Muslim and said that if I was walking on the street they would have run me over and cut my head off.

“I told them I was from New Zealand but they just turned around and said ‘well after we get the Muslims out of our country you lot are next’.”

The Southport resident said he had no doubt the group’s threats were serious and was now too scared to get back in his car for fear of being recognised.

“They were yelling and swearing and it was really scary because I’ve never been in that situation before and I definitely think they were being serious,” he said.

“I’m just glad I hadn’t picked my brother up yet because I would have been really angry if he had been in the car when it happened.”

media_camera Lucas Pollard was picking his little brother up from karate when he was verbally abused. Photo: Regi Varghese

Lucas moved to the Gold Coast from New Zealand with his family three years ago and said while the incident was horrific it would not make him leave the city.

“It’s a really nice country and everybody is nice, it is just the of people who make those remarks,” he said.

“I just want to ask them why they would say that out of the blue especially because they don’t know me and have just judged me on my appearance.

“I reported it to the police because I am concerned it is going to happen again, either to me or to somebody else.”

Queensland Police Superintendent Mat Rosevear slammed the attack and warned the perpetrators could face multiple charges including assault.

“This threatening verbal abuse was committed by uneducated people who target people because of their background or religion,” he said.

“They need to understand the serious nature of what they are doing because we will not tolerate it.

“We are a multicultural society and have to work and live together — that’s the reality of today’s world.

“If we locate these men we will look at charging them with assault and threats to commit assault.”

Lucas’s father Craig Pollard said he was appalled to see such racist behaviour occurring on the Gold Coast.

“I didn’t think there were people out there doing stuff like that,” he said.

“I’m quite upset about it because Lucas’s car is his main mode of transport for work and he doesn’t want to drive it because he thinks they will recognise it.

“People need to stop grouping all Muslims together because there are extremists in every part of society and they are a small portion of the overall population.”

Anti-discrimination Commission Queensland Commissioner Kevin Cocks said he had heard of a number of race and religion-based incidents and called for calm in the community.

“These people are driven by fear and they act out of ignorance because they feel threatened with the world in a very uncertain place,” he said.

“The golden rule is to treat others as we would want them to treat ourselves and that’s the message I am trying to get out.”