Toronto’s muslim community is urging Durham police to investigate a recent assault as a hate crime after an Oshawa woman had her hijab pulled off and head stomped on by a group of attackers.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) says the attack happened on Wednesday in the Oshawa area.
The NCCM says the woman, who is a local Pizza Pizza owner, saw a group of people, including teenagers, attempt to commit theft in the restaurant, and once she went to confront the group, the situation quickly turned violent.
“The attackers pulled off the woman’s hijab, and proceeded to assault her, including stomping on her head,” the NCCM said in a statement on Wednesday.
A censored video of the attack was released alongside the statement, faces of everyone involved were blurred, but scuffling involving many people can be seen.
The NCCM says it is appalled and disgusted by the attack shown on video.
“It is difficult to find the words to summarize the horrors of this attack, we are in contact with all relevant parties, and are in touch with authorities,” the statement said.
According to a media release by the Durham Regional Police Service, it was reported that the group was creating a disturbance in the restaurant prior to the attack.
Police say one of the individuals jumped behind the counter and attempted to take an item to which the woman confronted them, resulting in a violent encounter.
“During that struggle, several other individuals also jumped behind the counter, swarmed and assaulted the victim,” police said.
Police believe that those involved are young offenders.
Police say that as part of the investigation all motives, including the potential that this was a hate motivated crime, are being investigated.
Police say the hate crime and equity and inclusion units are involved in the investigation.
Wednesday’s attack is the latest to take place in Durham region after a Muslim woman was assaulted in an Ajax public library and nearly set on fire in March.
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The NCCM says this latest assault is another indicator of growing Islamophobia in the region and the rest of Canada.
“Islamophobic attacks have spiked across the country in the past two years… our leaders must take action to address this wave of hate,” the NCCM said.
