The families were forced to leave their village after claims that one of the sons, Ayman Youssef Tawfiq, had uploaded cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to Facebook, sparking violence from gangs of Muslim youth, who attacked the homes and businesses of local Copts with stones and Molotov cocktails. During the violence, another group of Muslim youths are reported to have helped the Coptic families defend their homes, along with the police who reacted promptly.