US student 'scarred for life' in street attack three days after arriving in UK
LONDON -- An American student was
attacked and slashed with a broken
bottle just three days after arriving in
Britain, police said Wednesday.
Francesco Hounye, who moved to the
U.K. from Florida to study aviation,
needed 23 stitches to his face after five
men beat him following a "heated"
verbal exchange in the Shadwell area
of east London.
"Every time I look in the mirror from
now on I will be reminded of this
incident," said Hounye, 22. "I face the
rest of my life with the permanent
scarring that will be left on my face as
a result of this attack."
Investigators believe Hounye was
assaulted because he was "obviously
not from the local area and they took
exception to the fact that he was a bit
different."
Metropolitan Police
Francesco Hounye, 22, was violently
attacked on a London street just th
days after he arrived in the U.K. fro
Florida.
Hounye speaks with an Italian accent,
according to police. Detectives
released video footage of the
incident in a bid to trace the attackers.
Metropolitan Police Detective
Constable Ben Mott said that Hounye
may have been attacked because he
stood out as a foreigner.
“The victim has an Italian accent, his
own style of dress and mannerisms,”
Mott said.
He added that the attack had "left him
scarred for life."
The attack happened on June 17, but
investigators released the video footage
and photos of Hounye's injuries on
Wednesday as they stepped up the
hunt for the culprits.
