An investigation is underway after a fire tore through a home, injuring four people in a possible act of anti-Semitism.
A three storey house in Hackney, east London, was ablaze on Wednesday with the emergency services rushing to the scene at about midday.
Horrific video footage shows flames filling a ground floor room of the house and black smoke billowing from the windows.
Four people were injured in the fire, with a fifth, a man in his 60s, also suffering injuries. He was later arrested.
Scotland Yard today (March 21) confirmed the man was detained at the scene in Newick Road. He is alleged to have been threatening and to have made anti-Semitic comments.
Det Ch Supt James Conway said: “On his arrest, the man made a number of threatening comments, some of which were allegedly antisemitic.
“We take instances of antisemitism extremely seriously and for this reason, we’re investigating the incident as a potential hate crime.
“Undoubtedly this will be extremely concerning news for our Jewish communities in Hackney and beyond, and I and my officers will be engaging with partners including the Community Safety Trust and the Shomrim to answer their questions and listen to their views.”
Det Ch Supt Conway said while the investigation continues to explore the motivation for the alleged offence, Scotland Yard believes at this stage he incident centred on a housing-related issue.
He added: “We have no indication, at this very early stage, that the motivation was connected with any specific local or global events.”
About 60 firefighters fought the flames at the end of terrace house. The ground floor and first floor of the three-storey property were destroyed by the fire, according to London Fire Brigade (LFB).
The four people injured were taken to hospital by paramedics. Station Commander Alan Bendell said crews worked hard to tame the flames and prevent the fire from spreading.
LFB was called just before 1pm with the fire under control by about 3.30pm. Firefighters from stations in Shoreditch, Stoke Newington, Bethnal Green and others were at the scene of the blaze, after 999 control officers took 31 calls reportin the fire.
The cause is under investigation by LFB and the Met.
