CCTV appeal following hate crime assault in Liverpool

We have issued a CCTV appeal for a man who we believe may be able to assist us with an investigation into a hate crime incident in Liverpool in which two teenagers were racially abused and assaulted.

The two males, aged 17 and 18, were on Fell Street in Kensington at around 8pm on Monday 27^th June when an unknown male walked past and shouted racial abuse towards them.

One of the teenagers verbally challenged the male and he produced a small knife and assaulted the teenager causing a cut to his neck. The second teenager who came to his assistance suffered a laceration to his arm.

The male offender is believed to have made off in the direction of Holt Road.

The two teenagers required hospital treatment for their injuries which are not considered to be life threatening.

An investigation is underway and CCTV and witness enquiries have been carried out in the local area.

We have also issued a CCTV image of a man who we believe could assist with our investigation.

Detective Inspector Alan Nuttall said: “This was a totally unprovoked and shocking racially aggravated assault on two young men simply going about their business.

“I would appeal to anyone who was in the area of Fell Street on Monday evening who saw or heard anything to contact us as a matter of urgency.

“Similarly I would ask anyone who recognises the male in the CCTV, or the male himself, to come forward as they may have information which is vital to our investigation.

“It is completely and utterly unacceptable for anyone to be subject to verbal and physical racial abuse and we simply will not tolerate people being targeted in this way. We are working to find the person responsible and bring them to justice. 

“We think the man pictured may hold vital information so I would encourage him, or anyone who recognises him, to come forward as soon as possible so that we can take positive action.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Merseyside Police social media desk via Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook Merseyside Police Contact Centre with reference 22000452027. You can also call 101 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or via their online form at: Give information | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org).

If you wish to report a hate crime, but don’t want to call the police in the first instance, across Merseyside, there are a number of third-party reporting centres available. These include the charity Stop Hate UK who can be contacted on 0800 138 1625.