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Three Jewish adults suffered injuries at around 10 p.m. on Monday when a BB gun was shot at them from a passing car on Leicester Road in Salford, England, near Manchester.
Greater Manchester Police later arrested two suspects on suspicion of religiously-aggravated common assault.
Detectives identified the pair through extensive CCTV inquiries following the shooting.
Greater Manchester Police said in a statement, “Threats to our communities will not be tolerated, and we’re continuing to enhance our security in Jewish communities across Greater Manchester to help keep them safe on our streets.”
Volunteers from Shomrim Greater Manchester assisted officers by reviewing camera footage themselves to trace the vehicle involved. The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) confirmed all three victims were adults.
Stephen Silverman, the CAA’s Director of Investigations and Enforcement, said, “Last summer, in an unrelated incident, two men filmed themselves firing a water gun from their car at a Jewish passerby. Now it has escalated to real injuries from a BB gun. What will be next?”
A Community Security Trust (CST) spokesperson said the force’s rapid response “helps to build community confidence” and pledged continued support for victims.
The arrests came a day after Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson of Greater Manchester Police apologized to the Jewish community, admitting his officers missed a chance to examine mobile phones belonging to Heaton Park Synagogue attacker Jihad al-Shamie before his Yom Kippur assault last year. The Independent Office for Police Conduct is now investigating that failure.
Take Action
CAM has launched Report It, a secure app to report antisemitic incidents anonymously and in real time. Don’t stay silent. Download it today on the Apple App Store or Google Play. See it. Report it. Stop it.
