A man has been arrested after three Jewish women, one of whom was pushing a baby in a pram, reported being assaulted in north-east London.
Police were called to the Clapton Common area of Hackney at about 13:40 BST on Monday after a man had been detained by members of Shomrim, a Jewish neighbourhood watch group.
Officers arrested a 33-year-old man on suspicion of racially aggravated common assault. The women are believed to have suffered minor injuries.
The Metropolitan Police said it was treating the incident as a suspected antisemitic hate crime and had increased patrols in the area.
The man has since been further arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm in connection with a separate incident in Islington on Friday, the force said. He remains in custody.
Ch Insp Erica Crawshaw said it had been “an alarming and distressing incident” and thanked Shomrim volunteers for detaining a suspect before officers arrived.
“We recognise the concern that this incident will have caused the Jewish community here in Hackney,” she said.
“We have increased patrols in the area and we are speaking to community leaders to provide further reassurance.”
The Met has appealed for anyone with information, or anyone else who believes they may have been assaulted, to come forward.
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