Stamford Hill kidnapping attack part of series of antisemitic assaults

A London suspect who attacked a Jewish man on Shavuot was revealed by a Jewish neighborhood watch to have attacked at least one other Jewish man that day.

 Members of the Jewish community collect their children from school in north London January 20, 2015 (photo credit: REUTERS/ANDREW WINNING)
Members of the Jewish community collect their children from school in north London January 20, 2015
(photo credit: REUTERS/ANDREW WINNING)

The UK Jewish neighborhood watch group Stamford Hill Shomrim revealed on Tuesday night that the attack on a Jewish man and his children last Thursday was just one of at least two assaults carried out by the alleged perpetrator that day.

Minutes before attempting to seize a baby carriage with two Jewish children on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, the alleged perpetrator had physically assaulted an Orthodox Jewish man who was returning home from synagogue, according to Shomrim.

The closed-circuit television cameras set up by Shomrim captured a man waiting for a Jewish person to cross his path in the same spot where the incident occurred on Monday, next to the Lubavitch House. The two appeared to exchange words before the alleged attacker rose to push the Jewish man.

Shomrim appealed to the public, asking for any other victims or witnesses to come forward, as “this offender may have committed further hate crimes.”

Attackers face punitive measures 

On Tuesday, the father of the two children involved in the alleged kidnapping incident spoke with police officers. He was not previously known to the police or Shomrim.

Members of the public detained the suspect during the attacks, the Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday evening, leading to his arrest on suspicion of common assault. He was later released on bail.

“The investigation is ongoing, and the motives of the suspect will be kept under consideration,” said the Hackney Police Station.