A woman in her 60s had a drink poured over her and was kicked to the floor as she travelled on a rush-hour bus.
The victim was travelling on a 108 bus in Newham when two other women attacked her at 5.20 pm on May 28, police said.
Scotland Yard said she was approached by two other women who poured a drink over her before pushing her to the ground and repeatedly kicking her.
The victim hurt a broken nose in the “unprovoked assault” and was hospitalized.
The two women got off the bus near Bow Church.
Detectives from the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command have carried out several enquiries and are now appealing for the public’s help to trace two women who were seen on CCTV onboard the bus.
Two women assaulted a woman in her 60s in Newham at 5.20 pm on May 28, police said.
They poured a drink on her, pushed her to the ground and repeatedly kicked her.
Woman in Her 60s Brutally Assaulted During Rush Hour
The victim, travelling on a Route 108 bus, suffered a broken nose and was hospitalized.
Police called it an “unprovoked” attack.
They added that the woman said to have assaulted her got off the bus near Bow Church.
Officers are appealing for the public’s help to identify two women captured on CCTV onboard the bus.
Anyone who recognizes them is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 5597/May 28.
You can also share information with police online and on Twitter.
The Toronto assault occurred around 3 pm on Monday near Grenoble Public School in Flemingdon Park, southeast of Don Mills and Eglinton, while a woman was coming to pick up her son.
Police said the woman, who was wearing a hijab, was approached by two men and attacked.
“It was a completely unprovoked attack,” said Const. Victor Kwong. “She was punched all over and kicked.”
Police said they are interviewing witnesses, gathering surveillance video from the area and asking anyone with information to contact them.
Not far from where the attack occurred, police said they were also aware of “anti-Muslim” graffiti appearing in the hallway of an apartment building. Police said they’re looking to see if there’s a connection between the graffiti and Monday’s assault.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims had advised Muslims to be vigilant against potential backlash after the Paris attacks, saying there was concern that community members would be targeted.
“There’s no doubt that this is hate-motivated,” Kwong said, noting that police typically see a spike in such incidents after the attacks in Paris.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for attacks Friday in Paris that sent shock waves worldwide. French officials say disaffected French Muslims carried out the attacks under the supervision of a Belgian who had fought in Syria.
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Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, who represents the riding where the Toronto assault took place, said Canadians need to guard against racism.
“We need to be vigilant in our communities, whether it’s in Flemingdon in my riding, or Peterborough, or anywhere in the province and the country, not to let these horrible events trigger hatred,” she said.
“I think that this is a time we need to gain out to our Muslim neighbours and friends and recognize the acts that took place in Paris were acts of terror and not borne of religion.”
Some residents of the neighbourhood where the woman was assaulted expressed their dismay.
“It’s some kind of idiot; it’s not the Canadian people,” Sahar Badawi, a Muslim, said of the woman’s assailants.
“Most people, regardless of their religion, regardless of what they believe in, respect Canada; they love Canada. Once we come to this country, we are Canadian like anybody else.”
“Such hateful and cowardly acts are detested to all Canadians who stand united in condemning xenophobia and hatred,” the National Council of Canadian Muslims Executive Director Ihsaan Gardee said in a news release. “While disturbing, we believe these charges on members of the Toronto Muslim community do not constitute the sentiments of the vast mass of our fellow Canadians or residents of Toronto.”
Gardee also urged leaders to publicly denounce the attacks, asking them to “measure their words…around refugee resettlement” and said, “many refugees are fleeing their homelands to escape the same type of horrific violence that the world witnessed in Paris, Beirut, and Baghdad last week.”