Trans pellet attack treated as hate crime by Bristol police

Kaz Self, seen here in 2021, said several people were hit and left shaken up

Police say the targeting of a trans event is being treated as a hate crime.

People attending the family trans pride event in Castle Park in Bristol on Sunday afternoon were shot at with yellow gel pellets, organisers said.

One of them, Kaz Self, 60, said several people were hit and the incident had left people shocked.

Ch Insp Stephanie McKenna, from Avon and Somerset Police, said: "We take hate crime very seriously and will not tolerate it."

Around 100 people were at the event when two people started firing pellets at the group.

Previous events have been held without incident

Ms Self, who is the vice-chair of Trans Pride South West, said the group was sat on the grass near the bandstand when a couple of people stood on the bank started shooting small yellow pellets.

"I felt some hit myself," she said.

"It was like being hit by hail stones and I looked to the sky, but there were no clouds, and then I looked at the ground and there were little yellow pellets.

"I was hit about four times, but it wasn't just directed at me, there were lots of pellets into the crowd, about 50."

Ms Self said the two people started coming towards the crowd and she became "very concerned" but they were then chased away.

She added that due to the small size of the pellets, no-one was seriously hurt.

"This was a family occasion though," Ms Self said.

"We were just there for a nice social picnic. People were there with young kids. Thinking about it now... someone could have been blinded."

Ms Self said the attack had left people shaken up, but they could not know the motivation behind it.

Ms Self said the incident had put her off organising similar ones in the future

Bristol City councillor Sarah Classick attended shortly after the incident, arriving while police were still in attendance.

She said while she did not see the interaction with the two people, it was "very visibly a trans event", leaving her "incredibly concerned".

"To see a city that has a good history of LGBTQ+ rights, and to see this sort of incident here is quite scary," she said.

"Trans people should not have to fear being visible in public, they should not need a security plan to have a picnic."

The incident took place in Castle Park in Bristol city centre

Police said CCTV footage is being reviewed as part of their investigation.

Ch Insp Stephanie McKenna said: "No-one should have to put up with offences like this, or face discrimination or prejudice just for being themselves.

"We've made contact with the organisers of Bristol Pride to keep them updated on our investigation and we encourage anyone who has been a victim of hate crime to report it."

The force said it was keen to hear from anyone in the area between 14:30-15:00 BST who may have seen two men, one described as white and the other as mixed race, seen leaving the scene in the direction of Bristol Bridge.

Both were in their early 20s and wearing black clothing, officers said.