Three teenage boys have been arrested by police hunting the hate attackers
of a Jewish teenager who left him with a brain injury.
GMP have arrested three17 year olds at addresses in Whitefield, Prestwich and
Derbyshire, on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm and violent disorder.
They have also issued an urgent appeal for witnesses to the attack.
Although Moshe and his friends were verbally abused on the station platform
they tried to run away and were attacked in the nearby Middleton Road area.
It is hoped drivers on the busy route into Manchester may have seen the
incident.
Detective Inspector Liam Boden of GMP’s North Manchester Division said:
“We have had a team of officers working closely with our partners to
recover and examine evidence since the offence took place, which has revealed a
sustained and unprovoked attack on the victims who were waiting for a tram on
the opposite platform.
“Detectives investigating this
case will be interviewing two suspects later today, but we are still appealing
for any witnesses to come forward.
“There are two distinct
scenes, as we believe the victims were chased from the platform to Middleton
Road and that is where the most serious assault took place.
“We would therefore like to
ask anyone who may have been travelling along Middleton Road at around 11.25pm
on Saturday, or anyone who believes they may have witnessed the attack, to come
forward.
“Similarly, we believe the
offenders then alighted the Metrolink towards Bury at around 11.35pm,
travelling between Bowker Vale and Radcliffe.
“We know there were people on
this tram and that they would have noticed these offenders travelling between
carriages, as it would have been obvious that at least one of them had been
involved in an assault.
“I know this crime has caused
upset and anxiety in the Jewish community, particularly as this has happened
just prior to the start of the Jewish High Holy Days, and I want to offer
reassurance that hate crime will not be tolerated and we will do everything we
can to stop it.
“For the past few weeks, we
have been working closely with the community and Community Security Trust to
put in place extra measures in the lead up to the High Holy Days period, with
plans already in place to step up patrols in the area and increase security
over the coming weeks.”
