A man has been arrested after three Jewish women, one of whom was pushing a baby in a pram, reported being assaulted in north-east London.<\/p>\n
Police were called to the Clapton Common area of Hackney at about 13:40 BST on Monday after a man had been detained by members of Shomrim, a Jewish neighbourhood watch group.<\/p>\n
Officers arrested a 33-year-old man on suspicion of racially aggravated common assault. The women are believed to have suffered minor injuries.<\/p>\n
The Metropolitan Police said it was treating the incident as a suspected antisemitic hate crime and had increased patrols in the area.<\/p>\n
The man has since been further arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm in connection with a separate incident in Islington on Friday, the force said. He remains in custody.<\/p>\n
Ch Insp Erica Crawshaw said it had been “an alarming and distressing incident” and thanked Shomrim volunteers for detaining a suspect before officers arrived.<\/p>\n
“We recognise the concern that this incident will have caused the Jewish community here in Hackney,” she said.<\/p>\n
“We have increased patrols in the area and we are speaking to community leaders to provide further reassurance.”<\/p>\n
The Met has appealed for anyone with information, or anyone else who believes they may have been assaulted, to come forward.<\/p>\n
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