AN ‘unacceptable’ attack on a young man in Co. Armagh is being treated as a disability hate crime, police have confirmed.
The man was left with serious facial injuries after being assaulted by a group of six teenage boys.
The incident happened in the High Street Mall area of Portadown at around 5.20pm on Saturday, February 24.
“It was reported that at around 5.20pm, a young man was attacked by six other teenage boys, sustaining serious facial injuries,” the PSNI’s Inspector Browne confirmed.
“We are treating this assault as a disability hate crime,” he added.
“It is completely unacceptable that a young man going peacefully about his business should be targeted in this way.”
Police investigating the case claims they have had a good response from local business owners who have CCTV footage of the attack.
“We have had a great response from local retailers when carrying out CCTV checks and are following a number of positive lines of enquiry,” Insp Browne confirmed.
“There is no place for hate in our society and we take reports of these types of crimes incredibly seriously,” he added.
“We all have a role to play in eliminating this behaviour from our community and we would continue to appeal to anyone who may have been in the area and witnessed anything suspicious to contact us.”
Police have urged anyone with information about the attack to contact them.
“If you have any information, please contact us on 101, quoting reference number 1237 of 24/02/24,” they state,