UK: Muslim schoolgirl target of Islamophobic assault

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) – British police said they have arrested a man and a woman after a video on social media showed the woman attacking a teenage Muslim schoolgirl on a local bus in Northern England.

The cellphone footage from Wednesday shows the 40-year-old woman hitting the 14-year-old Muslim schoolgirl on the floor repeatedly and a man shouting Islamophobic slurs.

The assault on the young girl started on a single-decker service bus, bound for Ecclesfield, Sheffield, in South Yorkshire, and then continued outside the bus.

Police said they were called to the Nursery Tavern in Sheffield following “reports of racial abuse” and that “a man and a woman were asked to leave the premises.”

But the same man and woman, who appear in the video footage, were later involved in the assault of “a 14-year-old girl,” according to the statement.

The woman and a 44-year-old man have been arrested in connection with the incident, according to the South Yorkshire Police.

The girl’s school also made a statement on the incident.

“We are aware of an incident that has happened outside of school where it appears that some of our students have suffered abuse from members of the public,” said Silverdale School.

“We are supporting the students and their families in any way needed,” it said.

“Given that this is an ongoing police investigation, we won’t be commenting further.”

Islamophobia in the U.K. has shown a sharp rise since the 2017 terror attacks in London and Manchester.