Passerby severely injured trying to stop assault on Jewish man in Germany

Attacker shoved an elderly man in Orthodox Jewish garb to the ground, then badly beat man who intervened

A man who tried to prevent a suspected anti-Semitic assault at a German train station was severely beaten by the alleged culprit.

The incident unfolded on Jan. 23 at the train station of Langen, a southern suburb of Frankfurt. An inebriated 27-year-old German citizen of Cameroonian descent accosted verbally and then shoved to the ground a much older man who was dressed like an Orthodox Jew, the Hessenschau newspaper reported Tuesday.

The older man got up and boarded a train unscathed, but a passerby who intervened ended up being injured much more seriously by the alleged aggressor, the paper reported. The 48-year-old victim was pummeled repeatedly and severely injured on his face and hands, the report said.

Police are trying to trace the man whom they say the suspect shoved to the ground.

They are not certain whether the incident is anti-Semitic, the report also said.

The suspect has a history of violent offenses, but not against Jews or other minorities.