Gang Threaten To Stab Gay Man And Trans Woman in West London

Police are appealing for witnesses after a "frenzied" gang threatened to stab Valentino Kyriakou (20) and Naya Martinez (21) in a chicken shop in Wembley, West London, last weekend.

Speaking to the BBC, the pair said that they were waiting for their food at Tasty Chicken when the gang approached them. “They were calling us every name and then threatening to ‘shank’ us,” 20-year-old Kyriakou said, “which is obviously stab us in the shop, so we just had to leave without even getting all our food.”

“Get out or I will stab you,” one man said.

“Get the f**k out not. Get out now. Get out the shop now."

“You come back, I’ll shank you both. I’ll shank you up. Get out. Take your f**king bag and get out.”

“Don’t f**king come here again,” one of the hooded men added. “Don’t f**king come here again.”

The pair fled the shop and have said the attack has left them stunned. “They were so, so angry, I don’t know why,” Martinez recounted. “They literally were so threatened by us – it was crazy. And all we were doing was standing there waiting to pick up our food.

“All I felt in that moment was: ‘Oh my God, I am going to get touched soon, this is going to be physical.'”

The gang involved went as far as to film themselves abusing the pair, and uploaded it to social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok, where it went viral. Although it has since been deleted, police are hoping to use the footage to identify the gang so they can be charged.

The attack comes at a time of increased concern in the LGBTQ+ community in Britain, as hate crimes soar and people feel less safe in public. Police reports show almost 20,000 hate crimes were committed against LGTBQ+ people between 2020 and 2021. In the last five years, hate crimes have risen by 201% – and over 600% against trans people.

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