Man, 48, held on suspicion of hate crime after passenger targeted in Stamford Hill

This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

A man has been arrested by police investigating a hate crime attack after a bus passenger was subjected to antisemitic abuse.

The 36-year-old victim was reading a prayer book while travelling on the 254 bus towards Aldgate on 6 December when another man boarded near Stamford Hill in Hackney, north-east London.

The suspect made a number of antisemitic comments to the victim before also verbally abusing a group of teenage girls also on the bus, according to police.

When the first victim tried to intervene, he was punched in the arm.

Police were called and the victim got off in the Stamford Lodge area but the suspect could not be found.

After analysis of CCTV footage, a 48-year-old man was identified and arrested on Friday on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.

Det Supt Adam Ghaboos, of the Metropolitan police central east basic command unit, said: “We have a large Jewish community in Hackney who have the right to live peacefully without being victimised because of their faith.

“My officers will thoroughly investigate all hate crimes that are reported to us and I would strongly urge anyone who has been the victim of hate crime, be it physical or verbal, to report it to police as soon as possible.”

It comes after another attack in Stamford Hill on 29 November, in which a rabbi was thrown to the ground by two men shouting “kill the Jews”.