Wednesday, August 24, 2005

UK Police Seek Witnesses in Bashing Incident

(Link) Police spokeswoman: “The three attackers obviously had a problem with the women’s sexuality and carried out a violent and unprovoked attack."
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LNewsEditor said...

JIC Post:
From RainbowNetwork

Police are appealing for witnesses after six lesbians became the victims of a homophobic assault in Headington, Oxford, which left two of the women with facial injuries.

According to the police, the women were travelling on a bus from the city when three men aged in their mid twenties made homophobic remarks towards them.

The men followed the women as they got off the bus at the last stop before Headington Roundabout and assaulted them, knocking two of the women unconscious.

"I went out for a friend's birthday party with my partner and some friends. On the bus, some men had been trying to pinch my partner's food off her, and were making comments,” Debbie Baxter told the Oxford Mail.

"I remember the bus moving off, and my partner was just lying unconscious with some lad kicking her in the face.

"I chased him down the next road and after that I don't remember anything. He punched me and I was knocked out. I remember when I was chasing him he was holding a white T-shirt in his hand, saying he had punched a woman and sounding really pleased."

Another one of the victims described how the young lads had been jeering at them and making comments about lesbians.

"This group of young lads just started making comments about lesbians and jeering. As soon as we got off the bus all I remember was having a very nasty headache,” the women, who asked not to be named, told the paper.

"As I was lying on the floor, one of them came to me, and one of my mates came between me and him and he punched her.

"There were four of us that were hit and two of us that were hit badly."

PC Miranda Moore, of Oxford's Violent Crime Team said the police were anxious to trace the offenders as soon as possible as this was a “very serious homophobic attack.”

“The three attackers obviously had a problem with the women’s sexuality and carried out a violent and unprovoked attack before running off towards Barton,” said Moore.

“We are anxious to trace the offenders as soon as possible, particularly a white man aged in his mid twenties who was wearing blue denim dungarees which were rolled down to his waist and at some stage appeared to be bare-chested.”

Anyone who was on the crowded bus in the early hours of Sunday morning and witnessed the abuse taking place are asked to contact Oxford Violent Crime Team, quoting urn: 0221 21/8, via 0845 8 505 505.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to speak to police and don’t want to leave your name, you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

8/24/2005 10:18 AM

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