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| Croydon 'hate crime': six questioned after teenager left in critical condition | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Detectives have questioned six people who were arrested after a teenage asylum seeker was beaten unconscious in a “brutal” attack and suspected hate crime. | |
| The boy was with two friends late on Friday night at a bus stop in Croydon when he was approached by a group of about eight people, who demanded to know where he was from. After saying he was seeking asylum, the gang chased and attacked him. | |
| The teenager, a Kurdish Iranian aged 17, was left unconscious on the ground after receiving repeated blows to the head. Scotland Yard said he suffered a fractured skull and blood clot on the brain and on Sunday was said to be in a serious but stable condition. The two other youths suffered minor injuries. | The teenager, a Kurdish Iranian aged 17, was left unconscious on the ground after receiving repeated blows to the head. Scotland Yard said he suffered a fractured skull and blood clot on the brain and on Sunday was said to be in a serious but stable condition. The two other youths suffered minor injuries. |
| Gavin Barwell, the Conservative minister and MP for Croydon Central, said he was “appalled” by the attack, while the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said he was “absolutely shocked”. | |
| Scotland Yard on Sunday said four men and two women in their 20s were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and violent disorder late on Saturday at addresses in Croydon. | Scotland Yard on Sunday said four men and two women in their 20s were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and violent disorder late on Saturday at addresses in Croydon. |
| Investigating officer Kris Blamires, from Croydon CID, described the incident in Shrublands Avenue opposite the Goat pub as a “brutal attack”. | |
| “He has sustained serious head and facial injuries as a result of this attack, which included repeated blows to the head by a large group of attackers,” he said. “A number of people came to the aid of the victim as he lay unconscious and injured following the assault.” | “He has sustained serious head and facial injuries as a result of this attack, which included repeated blows to the head by a large group of attackers,” he said. “A number of people came to the aid of the victim as he lay unconscious and injured following the assault.” |
| A witness said up to 20 people watched the attack. The resident of Shrublands Avenue said: “You couldn’t see who was hitting who. There was one person, the one who ended up in hospital, he was getting absolutely beaten up – kicked, mostly in the facial area. He was getting kicked and punched by everyone. | |
| “There was a group of roughly 10 people that was kicking and punching him, and the rest, another 10 or 20, were all just around watching. | |
| “Then when they heard sirens they started to go. People that were there, witnesses, because they couldn’t do anything against a group of 30 people, they had to wait until they moved off and that’s when they managed to help him. | |
| “That’s eventually when the ambulance and police [arrived], and that was it.” | |
| Those arrested were a 24-year-old man, a 24-year-old woman, three 20-year-old men and a 20-year-old woman. | Those arrested were a 24-year-old man, a 24-year-old woman, three 20-year-old men and a 20-year-old woman. |
| Barwell described the attackers as “scum”. He said: “I think most people in Croydon will be as appalled as I am that what appears to have happened is a young man who came to this country seeking sanctuary has apparently been targeted because of his ethnic background. It’s an appalling crime and I hope the people responsible are caught quickly and receive the full force of British justice.” | |
| He added that Croydon was a diverse community and generally had “very good relations between people of different backgrounds”. | He added that Croydon was a diverse community and generally had “very good relations between people of different backgrounds”. |
| Corbyn tweeted: “Absolutely shocked at attack on young Kurdish asylum seeker, who came here searching for safety. I fervently hope he makes a full recovery.” | |
| Absolutely shocked at attack on young Kurdish asylum seeker, who came here searching for safety. I fervently hope he makes a full recovery. | Absolutely shocked at attack on young Kurdish asylum seeker, who came here searching for safety. I fervently hope he makes a full recovery. |
| The shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, condemned the attack and suggested the Conservatives had failed to get to grips with hate crime. “Sadly, this is not an isolated incident but part of a sustained increase in hate crimes that this Tory government is yet to offer any effective response to,” she said. | |
| “With rightwing politicians across the world scapegoating migrants, refugees and others for their economic problems, we are seeing a deeply worrying rise in the politics of hate. We must make clear that there is no place for anti-foreigner myths, racism and hate in our society.” | “With rightwing politicians across the world scapegoating migrants, refugees and others for their economic problems, we are seeing a deeply worrying rise in the politics of hate. We must make clear that there is no place for anti-foreigner myths, racism and hate in our society.” |
| The director of advocacy at the Refugee Council, Lisa Doyle, said: “We’re disgusted to hear that a young man who fled to this country in fear of his life has been subjected to such a vicious hate crime in the very place he hoped to find safety. | The director of advocacy at the Refugee Council, Lisa Doyle, said: “We’re disgusted to hear that a young man who fled to this country in fear of his life has been subjected to such a vicious hate crime in the very place he hoped to find safety. |
| “Hate crimes have no place in Britain or anywhere else. We hope the perpetrators of this appalling attack are swiftly brought to justice and we wish the victim a full and speedy recovery.” | |
| Blamires added: “At this early stage, it is believed that about eight suspects approached the victim as he waited at a bus stop with two friends outside the Goat public house in the Shrublands area. It is understood that the suspects asked the victim where he was from, and when they established that he was an asylum seeker, they chased him and launched a brutal attack.” | Blamires added: “At this early stage, it is believed that about eight suspects approached the victim as he waited at a bus stop with two friends outside the Goat public house in the Shrublands area. It is understood that the suspects asked the victim where he was from, and when they established that he was an asylum seeker, they chased him and launched a brutal attack.” |
| A London ambulance service spokeswoman said: “We were called at 11.41pm on Friday to reports of an assault on Shrublands Avenue, Croydon. We sent an ambulance crew, a senior paramedic in a car and an incident response officer to the scene. We treated a teenager for serious head injuries and he was taken to a major trauma centre as a priority.” | A London ambulance service spokeswoman said: “We were called at 11.41pm on Friday to reports of an assault on Shrublands Avenue, Croydon. We sent an ambulance crew, a senior paramedic in a car and an incident response officer to the scene. We treated a teenager for serious head injuries and he was taken to a major trauma centre as a priority.” |
| The teenager’s condition has since been updated to “serious but stable”. | The teenager’s condition has since been updated to “serious but stable”. |
| Detectives are investigating whether some of those involved had been drinking in the Goat. | |
| Managers at the pub said they were saddened to hear of the incident, adding: “We do not in any way condone such action and we will do anything within our powers to help police to bring those that carried out this act to book. To the victim, we pray for his speedy recovery.” | |
| Police are urging those who helped the boy and anyone who witnessed the attack to call the police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. |