Alleged attacker of Jewish shop owners moved to psychiatric ward, avoiding court date

A man accused of carrying out a vicious attack on two Jewish shop owners in Stamford Hill has been sent to a hospital psychiatric ward instead of appearing at a London court.

Malachi Thorpe, 18, allegedly assaulted Israel Grossman and Erwin Ginsberg as they closed their shop on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day this year.

The two men, described in Wood Green Crown Court as “visibly Orthodox Jewish,” ended up in hospital being treated for a variety of injuries after the 27 January incident.

Thorpe was facing two charges of racially or religiously aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one of possessing an offensive weapon.

Shomrim had released video footage of the incident at Cadoxton Avenue, Stamford Hill, which went viral and was condemned by both Boris Johnson and Priti Patel.

Thorpe was due to enter pleas at the court on Thursday last week. But his defence lawyer said that once he was in custody his behaviour had spurred the prison authorities to transfer him to a hospital’s wing for psychiatric assessment.

David Lyons said: “It appears from the prison that the defendant is a very unwell man at the moment”.

Cathryn Evans, prosecuting, described the alleged attack as “unprovoked”.

She said that when Grossman and Ginsberg had seen Thorpe staring at them as they closed the shutters on their shop they had asked if he was looking for someone. He told them: “Yes, I am.”

The video footage posted by Shomrim on social media shows a hooded man approaching the two Jewish victims, throwing repeated punches and knocking one of them to the ground.

Thorpe, of Tottenham, north London, was remanded in custody ahead of a further hearing at Wood Green Crown Court on 21 April.