A gang kicked and punched a teenage asylum seeker in London with such force that he has been left fighting for his life.
It’s been reported that a further 20 people stood and watched the shocking incident in which the Kurdish-Iranian boy, aged 17, was left unconscious in the middle of a suburban street. He suffered a fractured skull and a blood clot on the brain.
It happened on Friday night in Croydon, south London.
The victim, apparently an unaccompanied child refugee living with foster parents, was waiting at a bus stop (pictured) with two friends when the gang approached them just before midnight. After discovering the 17-year-old was an asylum seeker, they chased the trio for about 100 yards. Two of the friends escaped with minor injuries, but the 17-year-old was caught.
He apparently screamed for help as he was physically attacked and verbally abused.
Eight people, including a woman and a 17-year-old girl, were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and violent disorder. This morning five people were charged over the attack.
Detective Sergeant Kris Blamires, of Croydon CID, said: ‘It is believed about eight suspects approached the victim as he waited at a bus stop with two friends outside The Goat public house in the Shrublands. It is understood the suspects asked the victim where he was from and when they established that he was an asylum seeker they chased him and launched a brutal attack. A number of people came to the aid of the victim as he lay unconscious and injured.’
Chief Superintendent Jeff Boothe, Croydon’s borough commander, called it a ‘savage’ and ‘horrendous and frenzied attack’.
A resident responded to the attack by spraying graffiti near the crime scene which reads: ‘Refugees welcome’.
