Police hunt suspect behind ‘string of homophobic hate crimes’ as they issue photo of man vandalising pride flags
28 June 2024, 17:19 | Updated: 28 June 2024, 17:23
Police are investigating a string of homophobic hate crimes in Newham and have released an image of a man vandalising a pride flag that they want to speak to.
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Officers received a report on Sunday morning that a large pride flag outside Forest Gate Railway Station had been vandalised.
The flag, painted on the floor outside the station on Woodgrange Road, had been damaged with red paint.
It was vandalised between 5am and 5:30am on Sunday 23 June, the force said.
On Wednesday, the force received another report that two other flags in the same location had also been damaged with red paint.
They were damaged at a similar time to the first incident on Sunday.
The force said that it believes the same person committed the offences and have now released a photo of a suspect they want to speak to in connection with the incident.
The image shows a man wearing a green jacket, grey trousers, black trainers and blue gloves stood on a transgender pride flag.
With a paint roller in hand, he appears to be daubing red paint over the pride flag.
No arrests have been made at this stage.
Detective Inspector James Rush from the North East area’s Public Protection team, who is leading the investigation, said: “We believe that the same person committed these offences, which we now know took place at between 05:00hrs and 05:30 on Sunday, 23 June and at about the same time on Wednesday, 26 June.
“As our investigation continues at pace, we have today issued an image of a person we would like to speak to in connection with the offences. The image was captured on Wednesday, 26 June.
“While the person’s face is covered, we hope that someone who lives or works in the area may recognise the individual from their distinctive clothing. If you think you may recognise the person shown in the image – maybe they are a customer at your shop, or live nearby – I would urge you to contact my team.
“I understand providing information to police can be intimidating, but I can reassure the public that any information provided will be handled sensitively. If you would rather provide information anonymously, please contact Crimestoppers.”
