An investigation into an alleged attempt to kidnap a Jewish man on Moundfield Road N16 in north London is underway, the Metropolitan Police announced Sunday.
The alleged kidnapping attempt took place Friday evening when four individuals shouted at a haredi man walking along Moundfield road in Stamford Hill to get inside their trunk, Shomrim said in a statement published to X, formerly Twitter.
In the video published by Shomrim, two men can be seen getting out of the car and one opening the trunk. One approached the haredi individual, apparently attempting to intimidate him. The haredi man moved away slightly from the assailants while he was on a cell phone, before the assailants returned to their vehicle.
The suspects drove from the scene without their intended victim.
Police are appealing to the public for information
Stamford Hill Shomrim and the Met Police are appealing for info or sightings of a black VW T Cross EA24 VXF involved with the attempted kidnap, Shomrim stated on their X account, formerly Twitter.
#AttemptedKidnap#HateCrime #Antisemitism Jewish male threatened by 4 males who demanded he gets into the boot of their car!️♂️@Shomrim & @MetPoliceUK are appealing for info or sightings of a black VW T Cross EA24 VXF involved with the attempted Kidnap on Moundfield Road… pic.twitter.com/QguhkLPSRM
— Shomrim (Stamford Hill) (@Shomrim) April 28, 2024
The Shomrim is a neighborhood watch group for the Orthodox Jewish community.
In a statement published on X, Hackney Police stated, “An investigation has been launched into an attempted kidnap on Moundfield Road, N16 on Friday 26th April. We are aware of a video being shared online and this will form part of our ongoing enquiries.” They asked the public to call 101 with any information, “reference CAD 5836/26APR24.”
Since Israel's war against Hamas broke out, the UK has seen an alarming spike in antisemitic incidents. Community Security Trust (CST) recorded 4,103 antisemitic incidents in the UK in 2023, the highest total ever reported to CST in a single calendar year, according to its annual report. This is an increase of 147% from the 1,662 anti-Jewish hate incidents recorded by CST in 2022.