Second arrest made as investigation continues in Castle Park assaults

A second arrest has been made as enquiries continue at pace into a series of assaults on men in a Bristol city centre park.

On Friday night (12 December), a 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault. He has been released on conditional bail while enquiries continue.

We now believe a fifth incident is linked to the series, with all the incidents occurring in Castle Park between Sunday 30 November and Friday 5 December.

A man in his twenties was approached by two men at about 1am on Sunday 30 November. A bright light was shone into his eyes before he was grabbed. The victim managed to escape and while he was left shaken, he didn’t suffer any physical injuries.

This was shortly before a second incident in which two men approached a man in his forties, shining a light in his eyes and striking him over the head, leading to him falling. His injuries, while serious, are not thought to be life-threatening or life-changing.

Two further reports of similar incidents were made in the early hours of Wednesday 3 December between 12.30am and 1.30am. Both men, aged in their forties and twenties, are not thought to have required medical treatment.

The latest incident was around 11.30pm on Friday 5 December, in which a man in his thirties was assaulted. He required medical treatment but was later discharged from hospital.

We continue to be concerned that these series of assaults may be homophobic in nature and an operation with senior oversight from an Assistant Chief Constable remains in place to ensure a thorough investigation is carried out and that we’re doing all we can to prevent any more incidents from happening.

A 32-year-old man previously arrested on suspicion of assault in connection with the incident on Friday 5 December remains on bail while our enquiries continue.

Descriptions of the suspects remain limited due to the time of night of these incidents, but of the victims who were able to give us a description, the offenders are mostly described as one white man and one black man. We also believe the offenders were wearing face coverings and dark clothing.

Bristol Neighbourhood Detective Superintendent Keith Smith said: “Understandably this series of assaults has caused significant concern, and we want to assure our communities that our enquiries are continuing at pace. Public safety remains a top priority and we want to reiterate there’s absolutely no place for hate crime in our city and we’ll relentlessly pursue those who perpetrate it.

“We’re continuing to engage with local LGBTQ+ leaders and are committed to ensuring the victims of these concerning incidents are updated on any further developments and have the support they need both now and in the future.

“Regular foot patrols of the park will continue so we can provide reassurance, increase public engagement and deter further criminality.”