Angry protesters gathered outside a Cabot Circus store in Bristol on Sunday following a vicious street attack on a child on March 4.
Around 20 people assembled on Saturday lunchtime (March 14) outside the Zara store. They could be heard shouting “shame on you,” or “shame on Zara,” and “What do we want? Accountability. When do we want it? Now.”
Pictures show Zara appeared to be mostly deserted, with only a few security guards inside, while the doors were locked as the crowd broke into chants and held placards with slogans such as ‘shopping should be safe’. Police were also in attendance, BristolLive reported.
The protest came after a girl was attacked outside Cabot Circus on March 4, leaving her in hospital.
A total of five arrests have now been made after the girl, aged in her mid-teens, was attacked in Philadelphia Street, Cabot Circus, at around 7. 45pm on Wednesday, March 4. Five teenagers who were arrested in connection with the incident, which happened on Wednesday 4 March, have been released on bail.
The fashion retailer told BristolLive its ‘thoughts are with the victim’. A Zara UK spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with the victim of this terrible incident.
The victim was in our store for a short period of time before leaving, after which the situation escalated away from the store.
“We are assisting the police with their investigation and will continue to support them in any way that we can.”
What happened on March 4?
A girl was attacked by a group of young people at Cabot Circus leaving her in need of hospital treatment. The assault was filmed.
The girl’s dad said the incident has left her so traumatised, she has not attended school. He also described the video that has been shot when his daughter was attacked as “sickening.”
The girl’s dad, who we are calling Phil to protect the identity of the family, told the BBC she feels “let down” that witnesses did not intervene.
“She was seen walking around Cabot with, you know, 25 people following her,” Phil said.
“For 25 minutes, they were following her…Nobody wanted to help. Nobody wanted to say, are you safe?”
A video of the attack has circulated widely on social media, and it is thought to be linked to a recent trend, which encouraged pupils to fight each other.
