Municipal officials in an Ontario city say they are horrified after a police report that a woman who uses Hijab was attacked in a public library.
The Regional Police of Durham says that the officers responded to an assault call in the main branch of the Ajax Public Library at noon on Saturday.
Police say that a woman was in the library studying when she alleges that an unknown woman approached her that shouted blasphemies while throwing objects into her head.
They say that the 25 -year -old suspect tried to eliminate the woman’s child while shed an unknown liquid about him.
Police alleged that the suspect grabbed a lighter and tried to set fire to the Hijab, but the woman shouted for help and security intervened.
A statement published on the website of the City of Ajax by Mayor Shaun Collier and the president of the Board of the Library, Piyali Corraya, said the incident “seems to have been motivated by Islamophobia.”
“For the victim of this terrible act and any triggered, injured or discouraged by this attack, especially as happened during Ramadan, a month of peace and spiritual connection, we are here to support him and to face all forms of hatred and intolerance,” the statement said.
Police said the suspect fled the library but was arrested a few hours later, and was accused of two assault charges with a weapon and three charges of not complying with the probation order.
Muslim Group wants to investigate for incidents as hate crime
The Canadian National Council of Muslims is asking the authorities to investigate the alleged assault as a crime of hate, saying in a statement that the incidents of Islamophobia have “increased exponentially.”
The group said he is in contact with the Regional Police of Durham on the case.
“It is an outrage that this type of violence has become a regular occurrence in our community,” said the group’s CEO, Stephen Brown, in a statement.
Police said the suspect was held for a bail audience, and an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The city’s statement said anyone who needs help must reach their team of diversity, equity and inclusion.
“The library strives to be a safe and cozy space for all, and the acts of hatred and violence will not be tolerated in any installation of the city or public space,” he said.
The community wants additional patrols around the mosques: mayor
Ajax MPP Rob Cerjanec also condemned the alleged attack in an X position, saying that he has been talking with members of the city’s Muslim community in the news of the news.
“There is a greater concern for this attack and it is imperative to investigate as a crime of hate,” he said.
“I have also been in contact with the police about the requests of the additional patrol community around the mosques when we enter the last week of Ramadan. Ajax has no room to hate any kind.”
The alleged attack also took reactions from beyond the south of Ontario. Amira Elghawaby, special representative of Canada about fighting Islamophobia, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Federal Minister of Environment Terry Dugid published in X on Sunday to say that the incident was hateful and did not take place in Canadian communities.
