Police urge witnesses to come forward after two men stage ‘vicious’ homophobic attack in London
Officers were called to Stamford Hill in Hackney following reports of a homophobic assault (Envato Elements)
Police have appealed for witnesses to a “vicious” homophobic attack on a man in his 20s in north-east London.
Officers were called to Stamford Hill in Hackney at 1am on July 26 after receiving reports of a homophobic assault and robbery.
The victim was walking near the junction of Seven Sisters Road and Amhurst Park when two men approached him and started shouting homophobic abuse.
The thugs then started physically assaulting the man and attempted to rob him. They tried to snatch his mobile phone but did not succeed, managing to instead take headphones from the victim, who suffered minor injuries.
Police have now launched an appeal to try to trace witnesses in connection with the incident.
Detective Sergeant James Rush said: “This was a vicious attack on the victim, all the more appalling because of the homophobic abuse the victim received.
“I implore any witnesses to this incident to get in touch to tell us what you saw. Any information you have no matter how small may be pivotal to our investigation.
“The Met stands against hate and will make every effort to trace the suspects down and hold them responsible.”
The men are both described as white and in their mid-20s. One man is believed to be around 5ft 6ins tall, with a beard and was wearing a green baseball cap at the time.
The other man is said to be about 6ft 2ins with curly blonde or ginger hair, and was wearing a leather jacket with a T-shirt underneath.
At least two people are believed to have witnessed the incident, including a woman in a white car who asked the victim if he needed help. A man in the back of a passing large black car is also thought to have been close by and may have witnessed something.
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101, quoting CAD 580/26Jul.
