London’s Metropolitan Police is investigating an attack, captured on surveillance video, in which two teens beat a 20-year-old Jewish woman unconscious on Dec. 7 in a heavily Jewish part of the city.
Several pedestrians appeared to walk by the assailants as they attacked the young woman. Later, several others checked on the victim, who seemed to be motionless in the street.
“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,’” wrote a division of the private Shomrim security group. It also posted photos of the alleged attackers.
Footage shows the woman walking down a residential street when the attackers struck her on the back of her head. As she crosses, they follow and hit her several more times before she falls to the ground. They continued the assault.
At least one of the attackers appeared to wear a school uniform.
Shomrim reportedly collected video footage from the area and provided it to authorities. It posted that Metropolitan Police officers are “very keen to speak to these two females.”
Metropolitan Police referred to the incident as a robbery, adding that it is aware that there are claims about the attackers’ motivation.
At around 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 7, “the 20-year-old victim was approached by two females in Rostrevor Avenue, N15, who assaulted her before stealing her bag,” the police wrote. “The victim sustained bruising. She did not require hospital treatment.”
“This was a shocking incident and terrifying experience for the victim, who was lucky to not receive more serious injuries,” said Det. Inspector Mike Herrick of the Metropolitan Police’s robbery unit, who is leading the investigation. “We don’t underestimate the psychological impact of offenses such as these and we are offering her every support as we work to identify the suspects.”
“We know footage of the incident has been widely shared on social media and understand that there will be added concerns about the motivation behind the attack,” he added. “We will, of course, keep an open mind about the motive and continue to work closely with the local community to allay any fears.”
Combat Antisemitism Movement, a watchdog group, said it was an instance of Jew-hatred.
“We are deeply saddened and angered by this violent antisemitic attack in the U.K.,” it wrote. “There is no room for hatred and bigotry in our communities. We call on policymakers to take decisive action against such displays of antisemitism.”
