Police are asking for the public's help after two women were assaulted in a homophobic attack on a London bus.
Metropolitan Police shared a statement Friday detailing the May 30 attack on the couple, both of whom were transported to a nearby hospital for facial injuries.
"As they sat on the top deck they were approached by a group of four males who began to make lewd and homophobic comments to them," police said of the attack, which they say occurred after the women boarded an N31 bus in the West Hampstead area. "The women were then attacked and punched several times before the males ran off the bus. A phone and bag were stolen during the assault."
A BBC Newsreport adds additional context to the attack, in which 28-year-old Melania Geymonat and girlfriend Chris were met with aggressive sexual comments and homophobic remarks from the group of men, who turned physically violent when those comments were met with attempts to defuse the situation.
"To ease the situation I tried to make some jokes, like Chris wasn't understanding because she didn't speak English," Geymonat, who praised police for their handling of the attack, said Friday. "She even acted as if she was sick... but they started throwing coins. The next thing I know Chris is in the middle of the bus and they are punching her."
Police say they are now looking into CCTV footage from Metroline, the company that operates the area's bus system.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan spoke out against the attack Friday, calling it a "disgusting, misogynistic" act of violence and hate crime against the LGBTQ community that will "not be tolerated." Though the investigation remains ongoing, police said Friday that arrests have been made.
