(Oct. 20, 2026 / JNS)
A 33-year-old man remained in custody on Tuesday after allegedly assaulting three Jewish women in northeast London, including one pushing a baby in a stroller, the Metropolitan Police told JNS.
Police are treating Monday’s incident in the Clapton Common area as a suspected antisemitic hate crime. The women are believed to have suffered minor injuries.
Officers were called at about 1:40 p.m. after volunteers from the Jewish neighborhood security group Shomrim detained a suspect. Police arrived within minutes and arrested the man on suspicion of racially aggravated common assault.
— Shomrim (London North & East) (@Shomrim) October 19, 2026🚨 Hate Crime;
Jewish ladies viciously assaulted🎥 CCTV shows 2nd attack
📞 Shomrim received a call from a visibly Jewish lady, reported being punched in the face by a middle-aged male on Clapton Common, E5.
👊 Shomrim volunteers arrived on scene 30 seconds later to witness a… pic.twitter.com/RHjZW0rvgd
Shomrim said volunteers responded after a visibly Jewish woman reported being punched in the face. They arrived about 30 seconds later and witnessed another Jewish woman being punched twice in the face, according to the group.
The victims told Shomrim they believed they had been targeted because they were Jewish.
“This was an alarming and distressing incident and we are grateful to our partners in the Shomrim for detaining a suspect prior to the arrival of officers,” said Chief Inspector Erica Crawshaw.
“Antisemitic behaviour and hate crime of any kind will not be tolerated,” she added.
Police increased patrols and were speaking with Jewish community leaders in Hackney to provide reassurance, Crawshaw said.
The suspect was also arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm in connection with an Oct. 16 assault on a woman believed to be known to him in Islington. Police told JNS that incident was believed to be unrelated and was not being treated as a hate crime.
