A woman who visited a McDonald’s in the early morning hours to grab a bite to eat became the victim of a racist attack simply because she was not white.
The woman, who was there with a friend, was shocked to realize her hair was on fire when another patron of the restaurant set her hair aflame before leaving the facility. The police were contacted, but the assailant was gone prior to their arrival. They are currently searching for the man responsible, hoping to catch him before he conducts more acts of racially-motivated harm on others.
The woman, who has not been publicly named, was standing with other customers while she waited for her food order to come up. The incident took place between 2:05 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. on Friday morning in Canterbury. The man responsible walked up behind her and lit her hair on fire before leaving. The woman’s friend quickly acted to help extinguish the flames before the woman was seriously harmed. She is reportedly doing well at the moment, with no serious or lasting injuries.
Metro reported on the incident and was able to capture a Facebook post from the girl’s friend, in which she exclaimed her disbelief that such a crime could happen in our modern society.
“I cannot believe that in this day and age there are some people that are as racially discriminative and backwards thinking as you.”
The friend started the post by addressing the assailant, hoping to grab his attention.
“To the disgusting person in McDonalds tonight who set my friends hair on fire simply because she is not white. You are disgusting and a disgrace to the human race, she did absolutely nothing to you as she was simply waiting around for myself and others who were waiting for food.”
Kent police are investigating the incident, according to ITV . A spokesperson confirmed that they are investigating the case.
“Police are investigating a suspected assault at a McDonald’s restaurant in St George’s Street branch of McDonald’s in Canterbury, in which it was reported that a woman’s hair was set on fire.”
The police would not confirm that the incident was racially motivated, instead stating that all “lines of inquiry were being investigated.” However, the lead officer in the case was off for the weekend, so further details could not be accessed.
The woman and others present in the McDonald’s are hopeful it is a solitary incident.
[Photo Courtesy: ITV ]
