Officers found the victim lying unconscious on the ground with serious injuries to his head and face.
Worrying development on #Armley Town Street. If you have any information about this incident, let the police know. https://t.co/5jINGakNWS
— Alice Smart (@Alice_Smart) September 12, 2016
West Yorkshire Police has confirmed that the attack is being treated as a racist incident while they conduct enquiries. Meanwhile, the town's councilor, Alison Lowe said that Armley was devastated.
#Armley hate attack: "We won't tolerate race hate" warn police https://t.co/YfkOxRy1P9 #westleeds #hatecrimes pic.twitter.com/khQfnlUGPh
— West Leeds Dispatch (@WLDispatch) September 12, 2016
"Armley is a tolerant and welcoming community where I lived with my own children for 15 years, without incident. News of this terrible incident has left me both devastated and confused. This is not the Armley I know and love and I hope our communities will come together to show others that Armley is a safe place to live and work, despite the despicable actions of an ignorant few," Mrs. Lowe said.
According to the results from a Freedom of Information (FoI) request published by newspaper Yorkshire Post, there were 6,224 hate crimes recorded by 37 police forces in June 2016, compared to 5,405 during June 2015.
#hatecrime in West Yorkshire up 69% in 2015/16 compared to a national rise of 20 per cent@MelzDot @stophateuk https://t.co/mTFBb3Mq85
— PC Matt Guy (@PCMattGuy) July 29, 2016
Subsequent research carried out by Viridian Housing revealed that despite West Yorkshire recording a lower percentage rise of hate crime, up by 6.5 percent, it had the highest number of reported hate crimes in Yorkshire with 342 in June this year, the month leading up to the UK's EU referendum.
Viridian Housing, which provides 16,000 homes in the Midlands, West Sussex and London has reportedly started handing out so-called red cards to residents with information on them in case they need to report a hate crime.
Meanwhile, Poland's president, Andrzej Dudi has written to church leaders in Britain urging them to help prevent attacks on Polish people living in the UK. The letters to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of Westminster suggested that attacks on Poles could cause divisions between Polish and British people.
6 wks post #Brexit: REPORT based on your stories #PostRefRacism @WorryingSigns #istreetwatch https://t.co/jWipiZ6Hbh pic.twitter.com/bHJgkV5hm6
— Post Ref Racism (@PostRefRacism) July 29, 2016
The approach to the church by Poland's premiere follows the death of Polish man Arkadiusz Jozwik, who died from his injuries after being beaten by teenagers in Harlow, Essex. Duda asked churches to help "alleviate the adverse consequences of intolerance and xenophobia, including what appears to be a clear instance of aversion and animosity towards Poles."
