Shocking footage has emerged of an apparently helpless schoolboy being threatened, hit and thrown around a train carriage by an adult – as fellow passengers appeared too terrified to intervene.
The video, which has been circulating widely on social media in recent days, shows the teenager being slammed against the wall of a London Overground train, which was travelling between Watford and London on Thursday, July 24.
At one point of the sickening attack – which happened in broad daylight in front of passengers of all ages and with young children – the assailant can be seen swinging the boy from one side of the carriage to the other.
The attacker can be heard calling himself ‘a big man’ as he violently hurls the boy within the carriage.
Adding to the distress of the moment, a female off-camera can be heard laughing at the scenes taking place, which occurred as the train neared Carpenders Park station, The Watford Observer reported.
British Transport Police confirmed to Daily Mail they are now investigating the incident.
A spokesperson said: ‘Officers received a crime report from Hertfordshire Police after a 13-year-old boy was assaulted on a train at Watford High Street railway station at around 4pm on a date in late July. Enquiries are ongoing.’
The footage is the latest to emerge in a series of disturbing incidents taking place on rail and Tube networks.
Shocking footage has emerged of a helpless schoolboy being threatened, hit and thrown around a train carriage by an adult – as passengers appeared too terrified to intervene
The sickening video, which has been circulating on social media, shows the teenager being slammed against the wall of a London Overground train travelling between Watford and London
Adding to the distress of the moment, a female off-camera can be heard laughing at the scenes taking place, which occurred as the train neared Carpenders Park station
Earlier this month, a ‘cowardly’ criminal was jailed for 16 months after robbing a deaf woman in her 80s on the Tube.
Liam McGuicken, 53, was caught on CCTV openly rifling through the victim’s wallet seconds after he cornered her on the London Underground in central London.
He had followed his victim and shoved her by the chest into a handrail before snatching her purse.
McGuicken had specifically targeted the vulnerable woman on the escalators of Westminster station.
She was with a friend who was also deaf.
Station CCTV footage showed him callously rifling through the wallet he had just stolen on Tuesday April 15, in the week before Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
McGuicken was arrested a month later at Sutton railway station after he was stopped by officers from the Metropolitan Police Service in connection with a fare evasion issue.
British Transport Police Detective Inspector Alan Judd said: ‘McGuicken sickeningly targeted an elderly deaf woman as she was making her way through the station, cowardly choosing to target a vulnerable woman for his own gain.’
Liam McGuicken, 53, rifles through the wallet he had just stolen from a deaf woman in her 80s
The ‘cowardly’ criminal has been jailed for 16 months
He reached into the victim’s coat pocket and stole her wallet before getting off of the escalator at the bottom and immediately getting the escalator back up
Last month, a huge fight broke out at the entrance to Highbury and Islington station on July 17 – with a screaming toddler ending up on the floor in the melee.
Members of the public attempted to intervene as the group appeared to hurl a man down the stairs at the North London hub and throw punches and kicks at him.
Footage captured the chaos as a smartly-dressed man kicked the head of another in a grey tracksuit – as someone else threw a rucksack into the packed crowd.
Commuters attempted to break up the fight and helped a mother and her baby in a buggy get out of the way, before bystanders rushed to pick up the child off the floor.
Other incidents in recent weeks include a woman who was walking to the Elizabeth Line platforms at Bond Street late on a Sunday evening when a man grabbed her shopping bag.
The woman pulled the bag back and kept hold of it, but he then tried to grab her handbag during the incident at around 10pm on July 13.
She eventually managed to walk away with her belongings after other members of the public intervened – and detectives are now probing the attempted robbery. A photograph of a man walking along a station corridor has been issued by police because they believe ‘may have information which could help their investigation’.
BTP wants anyone who recognises the man to tell them with reference 391 of July 18.
Police want to speak to this man after an attempted robbery at Bond Street station on July 13
An Underground passenger was assaulted on a station platform and suffered what police described as a ‘lasting eye injury’ in a shocking assault.
Officers said the man was assaulted at the Grade II-listed Belsize Park station on the Northern line in North London just after 5pm on Saturday, June 19.
They have now released a CCTV image in connection with the assault because the man in the picture ‘may have information which could help their investigation’.
Anyone who recognises him is asked to contact BTP with reference 514 of June 19.
A woman was sexually assaulted in a stairwell at Canning Town Underground station in East London last month.
Detectives are now investigating the crime at 6.20pm on July 30 at the Jubilee line station, which has an interchange with the Docklands Light Railway.
They released a CCTV image in connection with the investigation, and believe the man in the picture ‘may have information that could assist their enquiries’.
Anyone who recognises him should contact BTP with reference 161 of July 31.
This man is being sought by detectives after a sexual assault at Canning Town on July 30
Officers investigating an assault at Belsize Park station on June 19 have released this image
A 14-year-old boy was robbed of his bicycle on board a Thameslink train leaving Elstree and Borehamwood station in Hertfordshire heading into London.
The teenager was approached by a man on a Friday afternoon last month who stole his bicycle on the train, which was travelling towards Mill Hill Broadway.
Police do not know where the man left the train, but later the same evening he is believed to have been seen again exiting at Elstree and Borehamwood.
Detectives issued a photograph of a man who ‘may have information that could assist their enquiries’ following the incident at about 4.45pm on Friday, July 11.
Anyone who recognises him should contact BTP using reference 527 of July 11.
A man trying to buy a train ticket at a machine was robbed at knifepoint by a man and woman who approached him in the early hours of a Friday morning.
One of the robbers at Southend East, a c2c station in Essex, had a knife in their hand and pushed the man to the floor, demanding his wallet.
The man tried to get away, but was punched and knocked to the floor during the incident in the seaside city on July 25 at about 4.30am.
An image released after a bicycle robbery at Elstree and Borehamwood station on July 11
Officers investigating a robbery at Southend East station on July 25 released these images
As the man got up, several items of jewellery, a bag of medication, and a jacket containing his mobile phone were taken.
BTP investigating officer DC Nicola Avery said: ‘We would like to speak to the two pictured as we believe they may have information that could help our investigation.
‘While we appreciate the images may not show the clearest picture of the pair due to their face coverings, someone may recognise their clothing or notice something distinctive.’
Southend East is on the c2c line between Shoeburyness and London Fenchurch Street and Liverpool Street stations, and is popular with commuters to the capital.
Anyone who recognises either person in the images or has information about the robbery is asked to contact BTP, quoting reference 68 of July 25.
Anyone who recognises anyone in the photos can text BTP via 61016 or call 0800 40 50 40. They can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111
