A racist incident that went viral on X is being investigated as a hate crime.
As they marched through Romford Town Center, a group of women had to defend themselves.
On Saturday afternoon, a white male wearing glasses approaches a group of women, some of whom are wearing hijabs and hauling shopping trolleys, in Romford, east London.
He chases them down South Street’s crowded shopping section, yelling and gesticulating at the group as they attempt to flee.
In the viral video posted by Redbridge Community Action Group (RCAG), he swears and refers to the group as ‘Muslim traitors’.
When one of the women begs him to stop tormenting one of the victims, he responds, “Do you think firing Katyusha rockets into Israel is normal? We do not want you here.
He then tells them, “F*** off back to England.” He then corrects himself, saying, “F*** away from England.”.
Vaseem Ahmed, 55, was at a Free Palestine march outside Barclays Bank on the main street.
He claimed that after the police arrived, the protestors split up, and the man approached the women as they were walking home.
He told The Independent, “If you’re brave, do the same thing in front of some Muslim men and see what happens.”
“Do not target innocent people; this is the worst type of bullying. And grow up. Some of what he was saying was truly horrible.
“Being so enraged and agitated, he was incapable of articulating his thoughts clearly; it was not the most eloquent tirade.”
He said, “I recognize those women from other demonstrations. I was astonished by how it happened, but also not shocked. Islamophobic attacks have increased dramatically since October 7.
“Many government politicians, including Rishi Sunak, fail to condemn Islamophobia when it occurs, which in turn encourages others.”
“We are plainly Muslim, and women in particular are easy targets, which is the saddest thing.”
“I didn’t see anyone act; they may have been afraid for their safety, but all you have to do is shout a few times; you don’t have to put yourself at risk.” I don’t understand why people stand by and allow it to happen.”
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman told The Independent that the confrontation was being investigated “as a hate crime.”.
The force commented on X: “We are aware of this plainly inappropriate event and are conducting an urgent investigation.” “We’ll speak with the victim later.”
