A 38-year-old man and his fourteen-year-old son have been arrested in the northern Greek town of Oreokastro following a brutal attack on a shelter housing unaccompanied refugee children.

The shelter, home to refugee children who are in Greece alone and without their families, is operated by the Church of Greece and provides shelter, psychological services and family reunification support.

Similar racist attacks have taken place in Oreokastro in the past, including attacks against refugees in camps, as well as attempts in 2016 and 2017 to block refugee children from entering local schools.

According to reports, a group of men assembled outside the shelter with clubs, knives and metal crowbars and attempted to enter, while chanting racist slogans. Several men entered the yard of the facility and attacked underaged children who had come outside of the building.

Several underage children were injured in the attack. The children inside the shelter range in age from 8 to 15. Most have come from war-torn regions and were separated from their families during their respective journeys and ended up alone.

An investigation is under way and the case has been handed over to the Thessaloniki Police Department’s special force for Combating Racist Violence.