Four young Jewish men were attacked in the heart of Manchester, England’s Jewish neighborhood, in what community members have called the worst antisemitic attack in the city this year, the U.K. Jewish Chronicle reported on Monday.
One of the victims, a 17-year-old teenage boy, was being treated in the hospital following the attack on Saturday night against him and three others, one aged 20 and the two others aged 18.
The teen was apparently hemorrhaging in the brain after being knocked unconscious.
According to the BBC, the young men were waiting for the local tram before they were verbally accosted and then physically attacked.
The Greater Manchester Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime. As of Monday, had yet to announce any suspects.
The Community Security Trust, a British charity established to provide protection to Jewish communities in the U.K., called the attack outside the Bowker Vale Metrolink station a “particularly serious and worrying antisemitic assault.”
“We have offered support to the victims’ families and our thoughts and sympathies are with them at this time. CST has also been in close contact with Greater Manchester Police, who are conducting a full investigation and we ask that any witnesses come forward,” CST said in a statement.
Last month, the group noted a 53% rise in reported antisemitic crimes in the first half of 2015, compared to the corresponding period the year before, with 44 violent incidents on the books, two of which represented a serious threat to life.
CST Director of Communications Mark Gardner said Manchester had not seen other such violent incidents this year, though he said 18 violent incidents had been reported from January to June. Some of those attacks, though, involved eggs being thrown, rather an intense physical assault.
Earlier this year, British Prime Minister David Cameron told CST he would “not turn a blind eye to the threats” the Jewish community faces, and vowed to fight antisemitism. Later, he announced £10 million ($15 million) to provide security at Jewish schools and synagogues.