Czech Police investigating brutal assault on Romani children as a misdemeanor for now

The Czech Police are investigating Sunday's brutal assault committed against Romani children in Lipník nad Bečvou by two adults just as a misdemeanor against civic coexistence. Police spokesperson Miluše Zajícová informed news server Romea.cz of the decision yesterday.

Two adults, a man and a woman, brutally attacked several Romani minors during the incident on Sunday, 7 April. The man is said to have punched them in the chest and face, and eyewitnesses said he even kicked one child in the chest.

A 14-year-old boy ended up in hospital with a bruised back and a concussion, one girl's thoracic cavity was injured, and a 12-year-old girl ended up with a bruised spine and dislocated nose. The children's parents reported the assaults to police on 7 April, which news server Romea.cz confirmed.

"On Sunday in the early evening we received a report from the parents that their children had been physically assaulted in the Lipník nad Bečvou park by two adult individuals, a man and a woman. Overall, five children are said to have been attacked. The parents of two of the children had arranged for them to be treated in hospital, where one was treated and then released, while the other remained in the hospital for observation," the police spokesperson told Romea.cz.

"Currently we are undertaking our own investigation, interrogating people and verifying all the information available to us. The police are collaborating with the local authority, with a specialist on the Romani issue, and with crime prevention assistants in association with this case in order to calm the situation. For the time being, we're investigating this incident as a misdemeanor against civic coexistence," she said.

The man and woman assaulted the children on Sunday afternoon as they were playing in the park of the local chateau. There were roughly five more children at the scene, most of whom managed to escape being attacked.

"The woman assaulted them too. She slapped my daughter. I have already been to the police because what happened is horrible. Other children were beaten much more. One of the girls couldn't even breathe after that guy struck her in the chest. The police should have video footage from the CCTV cameras in the park," Martina Marejková, the mother of one of the attacked girls, told news server Romea.cz.

According to eyewitnesses, the man is said to have grabbed one of the girls by her hair and shouted "You black whore!" at her. When she asked him to leave her alone, he punched her in the face.