Picnic marred by 'racist and Islamophobic' attack
- Published
The families were having a picnic when the alleged hate crime took place
A family picnic to celebrate Somali women has been marred by a "racist and Islamophobic" attack, according to its organiser.
Zahra Kosar tweeted that children were chased and terrorised while some parents were assaulted in St George Park, Bristol on Saturday afternoon.
She said they were all traumatised by what appeared to be a "racist and Islamophobic attack".
Police have said they are treating the incident as a suspected hate crime.
Ms Kosar, a former social worker and mental health coordinator with the Bristol Somali Resource Centre, said the event had been organised to celebrate progress made by Somali women in Bristol.
'Public order offences'
A spokesman for the police said they received a call at approximately 16.55 BST on Saturday to the park in the Redfield area of Bristol.
On attendance officers received reports of "minor assaults and public order offences".
The suspects had left the scene before they arrived, the force said.
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Bristol East neighbourhood Ch Insp Deepak Kenth said: "Initial enquiries suggest some of the people involved may have been known to each other and that this therefore was not a random incident.
"Nevertheless we are taking it very seriously and continue to treat it as a suspected hate crime at this time."
Increased high-visibility patrols will take place in the area in the comings days, he said.
Ch Insp Deepak Kenth also urged anyone with information to contact the force.