A police vehicle is seen at the area where a Jewish man was attacked, in front of a synagogue, in Hamburg, Germany, Oct. 4, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Fabian Bimmer.

Police have identified a 16-year-old boy in an alleged assault on a 60-year-old Jewish man earlier this month at a vigil in support of Israel and against antisemitism, which took place in the city of Hamburg.

The suspect, named in reports as Aram A., is apparently under contract with an acting agency and has a role in a movie about a family of Holocaust survivors called “Evolution,” which premiered at the International Cannes Film Festival in France this year, German daily Bild Zeitung reported Thursday. In the movie, Aram A. plays the role of “Ali,” who bullies a Jewish student called “Jonas” at a school in Berlin and also gets violent towards his classmates.

Aram A. is being investigated for causing bodily harm to a participant of the vigil “Hamburg for Israel and against antisemitism,” which took place on Sept. 18 near the central train station in Hamburg. The identified perpetrator was part of a group allegedly yelling antisemitic and anti-Israel slogans at the organizers of the gathering, including “f**k Israel, free Palestine.”

When several of the participants in the vigil approached the offender and asked him to stop, he punched the 60-year-old victim in the face with his fist, causing a fracture of his cheek and nasal bones. The perpetrator — along with his companions, who are thought to have fled on rental e-scooters — managed to escape despite an immediate chase by several police cars.  Following the attack, the victim was treated at a hospital for six days.

Hamburg State Security in recent days identified the suspect after evaluating video footage, and tracked down the alleged perpetrator in his family home in Berlin, where evidence was seized following a search by police. After an initial interrogation, the youth was released, as the police continues to investigate alleged assault charge against the 16-year-old.

Aram A.’s mother told Bild that her family was “against Israel,” but that “what [her] son did is wrong.”

Commenting on the investigation, Stefan Hensel, Hamburg’s commissioner on Jewish life and the fight against antisemitism, said: “The rapid search success of the authorities is a reassuring signal after the disturbing images of the attack on the Hamburg vigil participant.”

“The current case shows once again that even projects with the best intentions are no remedy against antisemitism. We see this incident as an appeal to intensify our work even further. In the long run, it will only be crowned with a consistent investigation of antisemitic crimes and criminal prosecution,” Hensel added.