POLICE are treating a report of an assault on a teenager in Belfast as a racially-motivated hate crime.
The incident occurred at around 5.15pm on Monday, February 3, in Aughrim Park in the south of the city.
According to police, a 17-year-old male was approached by a man who asked him ‘a number of insulting questions before grabbing him by his coat’.
“The teenager managed to break free from the man and made off from the area but was left feeling frightened and shaken,” read a statement from the PSNI.
“The man involved was described as being in his 40s or 50s and was wearing a white jacket and a cap and spoke with a local accent.
“The matter is being treated as a racially-motivated hate crime.”
Police in south Belfast are now appealing for information in relation to the incident.
Anyone who may be able to help with the investigation is asked to call police at Lisburn Road on 101, quoting reference number 782 of February 4.