Police searching for two women who punched Muslim woman, kicked her off London bus
An eye-witness says the attackers kicked the woman in her stomach off the bus backwards and she landed on the road
The attack happened on a London bus PHOTO: AFP
Metropolitan police has renewed efforts to apprehend two women who punched and kicked a Muslim hijab-wearing woman off a London bus in October.
“(The victim) said they kicked her in the stomach off the bus backwards…she landed on the road on her back,” commuter Antonia Bance, who witnessed the incident from a bus stop, said.
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”Straight away people picked the lady up off the floor, they were giving her hugs and helping her with her shopping,” she added.
Other passengers also described how the victim, in her 40s, began crying and was told to “shut the f*** up” as the attackers filmed her on their phones.
Bance also said one of the women shouted “this isn’t bloody Africa” during the racist tirade. “All of a sudden the crowd around me gasped. As I looked up there was a woman in a pink hijab lying on the road next to the back doors of the bus,” she told Independent.
Further, she added that a scuffle ensued as other passengers called the police and tried to prevent the attackers from leaving, while taking photos of them before they walked away.
The police are treating the incident as an Islamophobic attack and have launched new appeal for information on the two women. Officers have urged anyone with video footage or photos of the attack to come forward.
'Gay boy' living opposite a mosque in London tackles Islamophobia in viral post
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said the “badly shaken” woman was taken to hospital for treatment for injuries caused by being punched in the head and kicked off the bus.
“The suspects were heard by the victim and witnesses shouting racist and Islamophobic abuse at the victim before and after the attack. Both suspects are described as black females aged in their twenties. Police are keen to hear from anyone who recognises the women in the images released today, ” a spokesperson said.
This article originally appeared on the Independent.
“(The victim) said they kicked her in the stomach off the bus backwards…she landed on the road on her back,” commuter Antonia Bance, who witnessed the incident from a bus stop, said.
Muslim man forced off London tube for using his iPad 'suspiciously'
”Straight away people picked the lady up off the floor, they were giving her hugs and helping her with her shopping,” she added.
Other passengers also described how the victim, in her 40s, began crying and was told to “shut the f*** up” as the attackers filmed her on their phones.
Bance also said one of the women shouted “this isn’t bloody Africa” during the racist tirade. “All of a sudden the crowd around me gasped. As I looked up there was a woman in a pink hijab lying on the road next to the back doors of the bus,” she told Independent.
Further, she added that a scuffle ensued as other passengers called the police and tried to prevent the attackers from leaving, while taking photos of them before they walked away.
The police are treating the incident as an Islamophobic attack and have launched new appeal for information on the two women. Officers have urged anyone with video footage or photos of the attack to come forward.
'Gay boy' living opposite a mosque in London tackles Islamophobia in viral post
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said the “badly shaken” woman was taken to hospital for treatment for injuries caused by being punched in the head and kicked off the bus.
“The suspects were heard by the victim and witnesses shouting racist and Islamophobic abuse at the victim before and after the attack. Both suspects are described as black females aged in their twenties. Police are keen to hear from anyone who recognises the women in the images released today, ” a spokesperson said.
This article originally appeared on the Independent.