Police investigate man who chased after Charedim with a stick on Shabbat

Police are investigating a man who chased after Charedi Jews with a wooden stick in Stamford Hill on Shabbat.

Footage shared online by neighbourhood watch group Shomrim shows observant Jews  as they travelled to synagogue on Shabbat, running away from the individual on Saturday 2 January. The clip also shows small children running away from him as he shouted expletives.

In a statement, the police said it “were initially called to Cranwich Road, Stamford Hill, N16 at 09:32hrs on Saturday, 2 January following reports of a disturbance involving a man brandishing a large stick. Further calls established that the man then moved into Bethune Road where the disturbance continued.

“Officers attended and stopped a 29-year-old man at the scene. He was arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery and was taken to a north London police station. After an initial review, officers determined that the incident should be classified as a public order offence, not an attempted robbery. The man was released under investigation on Sunday, 3 January and enquiries are ongoing

“These will include consideration of whether any offences were religiously or racially motivated.

“We are aware of a video that has since been shared online which appears to have been filmed during this incident. It shows that there were a number of people present at the scene who would have witnessed what happened. Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting CAD1524/02JAN.”

Taking to Twitter, Shomrim shared the footage on Tuesday appealing for witnesses, calling it a “hate crime”.

The group said the “deranged male armed with a stick chased Jewish families on the way to Synagogue”.