Hamilton police have charged a 40-year-old man after a Muslim mother and daughter were threatened using racial slurs and forced to hide from a suspect in Ancaster.
Posted Jul 14, 2021, 05:26AM EDT
Hamilton police have charged a 40-year-old man after a Muslim mother and daughter were threatened using racial slurs and forced to hide from a suspect in Ancaster.
Investigators say the incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. in the parking lot of a plaza in the Ancaster Meadowlands Monday.
Police say the interaction began when a vehicle pulling out of a parking spot almost struck one of the victims. The suspect than began uttering threats towards the victims using slurs targeting the Muslim community.
The victims ran across the street and hid behind bushes while the suspect searched for them. He eventually located them and allegedly threatened to kill them.
Witnesses intervened after one of the victims ran screaming for help. The suspect then fled the area.
A 40-year-old Hamilton man was arrested Tuesday and is facing three charges of utter threat to cause death, two charges of assault with a weapon and dangerous operation and fail to comply probation.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims said the two women were wearing hijabs at the time of the incident.
They also shared a statement from the family targeted in this incident.
“We are shaken, but unbroken after the attack on our family last night. Let us be clear, this individual attempted to terrorize our family,” read the statement. “An individual drove dangerously to our family members. He swore at them. He cursed them with a number of racist and Islamophobic slurs. He threatened to murder them. He tried to tail them home in his vehicle.”
They added that in light of the attack in London, in which four members of a Muslim family were killed, it was incredibly terrifying.
Hamilton police say they are investigating the incident as a hate crime. Any witnesses are urged to contact investigators.
We at NCCM were deeply saddened to hear of yet another terrifying attack on two Muslim women wearing hijab in Hamilton.
See statement from the family below: pic.twitter.com/PZHkJRcCvp
— NCCM (@nccm) July 13, 2021
