Jewish Teen Shot, Homes Defaced: Bournemouth’s Dark Weekend

Bournemouth, a serene seaside town on England’s south coast, has been rocked by a series of anti-Semitic hate crimes that left its Jewish community of approximately 1,600 residents deeply shaken. Around 2:50 PM, a Jewish teenager, identifiable by his skull cap, was walking toward a synagogue in the East Cliff area when a driver stopped, shouted abusive remarks, and fired an air rifle, striking the boy in the forehead. The victim sustained minor injuries and swelling but has since recovered.

Dorset Police arrested a 26-year-old man from Ferndown, Dorset, on suspicion of assault and possession of an imitation firearm in public. He was released on bail as the investigation continues. Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Jenkins stated, “We have been carrying out extensive inquiries as part of our investigation and have now made an arrest in connection with the incident. We understand the concern that this incident has caused to members of the community and we are continuing to liaise with them to provide updates and reassurance.”

Hours earlier, on Friday night, vandals targeted at least four Jewish homes, spray-painting black Nazi swastikas on properties marked with mezuzahs, traditional Jewish doorpost scrolls. Rabbi Benzion Alperowitz, a Chabad leader, discovered one such symbol on his home while heading to synagogue with his daughters, aged seven and ten. He shared, “As I walked out the door together with my children on the way to synagogue, we turned around to discover that some cowards visited our home on Friday night and decorated it with this symbol.” Despite the distress, Alperowitz remained defiant, urging, “We all together are responsible for bringing back Bournemouth to what it truly is, a place of kindness, a place of unity, and everyone has a part in that. Be proud to be Jewish and never allow these forces of darkness and forces of evil to instill fear into our hearts.”

Rabbi Alan Lewis of the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation noted, “The young man who was shot is a religious Jew who was wearing a skull cap. It was very obvious he was Jewish. Then several people living on Manor Road woke up to find that swastikas had been painted on their homes. The homes had a mezuzah outside, so it was obvious that Jewish people lived there.”

The Community Security Trust (CST), which tracks anti-Semitic incidents, reported 1,521 cases across the UK in the first half of 2025, the second-highest six-month total, driven by tensions surrounding the Gaza war following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack. Andrew Gilbert, vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, condemned the attacks as “extremely concerning,” hoping perpetrators would “face the full force of the law.” Dorset Police, treating the incidents as hate crimes, have increased patrols and are investigating possible links between the shooting and vandalism.