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Windows smashed and man injured in 'revenge' attack after racist abuse in Wolverhampton

Windows were smashed and a man was injured in what is believed to have been a revenge attack after a racist incident in Wolverhampton.

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The 'relatiation' attack happened in Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton. Photo: Google

Around 10 men were reported to be smashing windows at a house in the Whitmore Reans area of the city on Monday evening.

Police believe the attack was carried out in retaliation for an incident in West Park where a Muslim family was racially abused on Saturday.

Senior police officers have now urged people to stay calm, unite and not take matters into their own hands.

Video of the attack was widely shared online, showing a group of young men shouting abuse and threatening to stab members of the family at a play area.

It also shows two of the group becoming aggressive, with one of them hitting the phone out of the hands of the person taking the video.

The incident in Whitmore Reans, which is also believed to have been filmed and posted online, then happened at around 7.30pm on Monday and led to a man in his 40s suffering a head injury. He did not require hospital treatment.

Two boys, aged 15 and 17, have been arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated assault over the park incident but so far no suspects have been arrested over the window smashing.

Chief Inspector Hasson Shigdar, of Wolverhampton Police, said: "We know there is a great deal of anger and frustration following an incident in West Park and we understand that.

"But we are asking our communities to now pull together and remain calm as we work to bring those involved to justice.

"We will not tolerate racially aggravated incidents in our city and following enquiries into Saturday's incident we have now made two arrests.

"Unfortunately we are also investigating a second attack which we believe was in retaliation and we would now urge everyone to allow officers to focus on carrying out their enquiries.

"We also do not want these incidents to cause any more harm or upset than they already have so we are asking people to no longer share footage as this can only stir up further resentment and anger."

The two West Park suspects remained in police custody on Tuesday afternoon and police said they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

Officers have urged people not to share videos of either attack, warning that to do so could fuel further hatred and unrest.

Anyone with information is urged to call West Midlands Police on 101, quoting incident number 3816 of June 5.

Alternatively, witnesses can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

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