LONDON -- Six people have been arrested after a group of men forced their way into a synagogue in Stamford Hill early Sunday morning in what police called an "anti-Semitic" incident.
The men, who were described as drunk, had left a nearby party and attempted to get into the synagogue. One man was punched in the face when he tried to stop them.
Police said they were stepping up patrols in the area following the incident.
At 01:15 group of drunk men walked fr house party to a synagogue in #N15 where they caused disturbance. A man sustained minor injury (1/2)— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 22, 2015
(2/2) Police made 6 arrests. Increased police patrols in #StamfordHill #N15 area to provide reassurance to the community.— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 22, 2015
Four men and two women were arrested at the scene and police are looking for anyone else who was involved in the incident.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said that the event "is being treated as an anti-Semitic incident, due to remarks made by one of the group."
"At this early stage, there is no suggestion that this was a far-right or extremist attack but rather the completely unacceptable actions of a drunken group," they added.
Rabbi Maurice Davis, of the Ahavas Torah synagogue, told the BBC: "I think this incident was more anti-social than anti-Semitic," adding that he thought Stamford Hill was a safe place for Jews.
In February, the Community Security Trust said that anti-Semitic incidents hit a record high in 2014. The organisation said it recorded 1,168 incidents over the year - up from 535 cases in 2013.