London Police Launch Hate Crime Investigation after Headscarf Attack
The victim was walking along Oxford Street, a busy shopping district, alone when she was approached by the man who repeatedly told her to remove her headscarf.
When she refused, the attacker is said to have become more aggressive and grabbed the woman’s headscarf in an attempt to remove it by force in what police described as an Islamophobic assault.
Scotland Yard said the man managed to unpin the woman's scarf, but did not succeed in removing it from her head.
The victim, in her 40s, managed to escape her attacker and the man fled towards Marble Arch.
Police said the victim was not injured, but was shocked and distressed by the incident.
Details of the attack, which happened at about 8.15am on Tuesday, October 4, come after a similar assault in the London borough of Haringey in which a woman had her hijab pulled down.
Det Sgt Steve Stamp, of the Metropolitan Police, said of the latest incident: "This was an unprovoked and hate-filled attack in broad daylight in the middle of a busy street.
"The woman was targeted by this suspect purely based on what she was wearing.
"Racially and religiously motivated crimes will not be tolerated I would appeal to anyone who witnessed this attack to contact police."
Detectives are continuing to scour CCTV as they hunt the suspect, who is described as a white man, aged between 30 and 40.
Police said he was about 5ft 5ins and of medium build, with short black greased-back hair. He was wearing a grey sweatshirt and light blue jeans.
In the Haringey attack, the victim had her hijab pulled down in a racially-motivated assault on a busy street.
Police said the victim, in her 20s, was not injured but was shocked and distressed by what happened.
She had been walking with a female friend and, as they crossed the road by The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London, she was approached from behind by two men.
The Metropolitan Police said one of them pulled down the hijab she was wearing before both fled the scene.
Source: The Independent
