Two girls aged 13 and 14 have been arrested in connection to the brutal beating of an Orthodox Jewish woman last week in north London.
Police have said there is “significant concern” that the victim in the case, a 20-year-old Jewish woman, was targeted in the attack because of her appearance, which could potentially be investigated as a hate crime, according to a report from The Sun.
The reported arrests come after the violent assault was captured by surveillance cameras and publicized on social media by Shomrim, a Jewish neighborhood watch group. The shocking video shows the woman being pulled to the ground and repeatedly punched and kicked as she lay motionless on the street. The suspects then fled with the woman’s handbag as bystanders stopped to check on the victim.
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A police officer stands in Parliament Square on Feb. 15, 2015, in London. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
“The brutal attack ended after the two female offenders kept on kicking the unconscious victim in the head before laughing over her body and, according to witness reports, saying joyfully she’s ‘dead,'” the group said in a post on X. “She was left collapsed and unresponsive in a puddle and appeared unconscious for a few minutes.”
The woman was reportedly left bruised and unconscious, though the injuries were not severe enough to require a visit to the hospital.
Meanwhile, London Metropolitan Police Detective Sergeant Asli Benson said investigators are “pursuing all available lines of inquiry since the incident and these arrests are a very positive development,” according to The Sun report.
Over 105,000 people marched against antisemitism in London on Nov. 26, 2023. (Courtesy: Simon Dalton)
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“The victim is from the orthodox Jewish community,” Benson said. “It would have been obvious from her appearance that she was Jewish and there has been significant concern that she was targeted for that reason.”
The detective also pointed to heightened fears for members of London’s Jewish community after the recent terrorist attacks on Israel earlier this year, noting that there has been a “subsequent rise in antisemitic hate crime here in London.”
A boy, wearing a kippah, holds the British flag at a march against antisemitism in London, Nov. 26, 2023. (Reuters/Susannah Ireland)
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“These concerns are entirely understandable,” Benson said. “While we are keeping an open mind as to the motive behind the incident and will continue to explore all avenues, we are treating this as a possible hate crime.”
