‘Vicious’ attack traumatises eight-year-old

AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD Jewish boy was left traumatised after he was “viciously beaten” in an unprovoked attack.

According to the Shomrim volunteer security group, the child was walking home from school in Stamford Hill, north London, on Monday when he was attacked in “a shocking incident” which left him with “swelling and marks near his chest, neck, shoulder and face”.

Shomrim said the boy escaped after two people came to his aid and chased away the attacker. The boy “ran home and up all the stairs before collapsing. He was crying and couldn’t talk for the next four-and-a-half hours.”

The boy later described how “a white man wearing gloves attacked him from behind, pushed him to the wall and beat him severely”.

The boy was treated by the Hatzolah ambulance service but was later taken to hospital.

Shaye Gluck from Stamford Hill Shomrim said: “This was a vicious attack on a young boy in broad daylight on a very busy residential street.

“This attack has affected this young boy’s life severely. He keeps on having flashbacks and goes into shock mode where he loses his speech again.

“It is unacceptable that children can no longer walk home from school safely.”

The Metropolitan Police said enquiries were continuing but no arrests had been made by Wednesday. They were not treating the incident as a hate crime “at this time”.