Police are seeking a man who allegedly racially abused a Polish shopkeeper in Bramley this morning.
The incident happened in Bramley Shopping Centre at 10.18am and involved the shopkeeper at Koala Delicatessan.
In a statement, Inspector Jon Brady, who heads neighbourhood policing in north-west Leeds, said:
“At 10:18am today police were called to an incident at Bramley Shopping Centre where a male shopkeeper had been taken ill. Officers established that a short time beforehand a man had made comments to the victim in his shop.
“The victim, who has a pre-existing heart condition, was taken to Leeds General Infirmary by ambulance but is due to be released later today after being monitored.
“We are satisfied that no physical assault took place. We are treating the incident as a racially-aggravated public order offence and our investigation is ongoing.”
The suspect was described as white, aged about 40, and heavily tattooed on his face, neck and arms. He was wearing a t-shirt and spoke with a local accent. He was with a woman with curly ginger hair who was wearing sunglasses.
Insp Brady added:
“We would like to reassure people that we treat all reports of hate crime very seriously and will do everything we can to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.”
If anyone has any information that could assist the investigation police are asking them to contact officers on 101 quoting log number 456 of June 28.
