'Islamophobia is real': Community leaders express shock after threats, arrests at Scarborough, Ont. mosque
The Muslim community in Scarborough is reeling after two people were arrested on the grounds of a Scarborough, Ont., mosque, accused of attempting to break into the building and threatening to shoot and blow up the people inside.
Police officers watched over the nightly prayers at the Islamic Institute of Toronto Tuesday evening as community members came together to support each other after the incident, which comes on the heels of the murder of four Muslim people in London, Ont., an attack that police say was an act of hate.
“Community members have been calling and texting all day today because they are very concerned and very much afraid, and we have tried to reassure them,” said Farhad Khadim, the director of education at the institute.
Pictures taken shortly after the arrest show three officers holding a person against a police vehicle during the arrest. A video shows two people taken into a police van without incident.
Police arrest a suspect after two people allegedly threatened to shoot and blow up the Islamic Institute of Toronto.
Police say they got a call to the Islamic institute near Finch Avenue East and Neilson Road shortly before noon. They said two people under the influence of illicit drugs tried to gain entry to the mosque, and became aggressive when confronted.
A 24-year-old man and 22-year-old woman are charged with break-and-enter, threatening death and mischief to property endangering life.
“While there is no evidence to suggest this is hate motivated at this time, out of an abundance of caution, our Hate Crime Unit has been notified and will support the ongoing investigation,” Toronto police said in a statement.
No injuries were reported in connection with the incident and police said the suspects had no weapons or explosives on them.
“They threatened to detonate the building and they threatened to shoot individuals,” said Fareed Amin, the chair of the board of directors for the Islamic Institute of Toronto. “There were no names mentioned, but my understanding is there was a threat to shoot people.”
He said the security gates to the parking lot had been left open because of a delivery. He said a handful of people were inside at the time of the incident.
“These individuals obviously felt very threatened. I’m sure once this incident was happening they were reliving the memories from London and the incident at the IMO about a year ago,” he said.
In September 2020, a man was stabbed to death outside an Etobicoke mosque in what appeared to be a random attack. On June 6, in London, four members of the Afzaal family were murdered while going for a walk.
In both of those cases, authorities believed the individuals were targeted for their faith. In London, the alleged attacker is facing terror charges.
Toronto Mayor John Tory acknowledged the incident on social media Tuesday night, saying that threatening incidents such as these “increase people's fear and anxiety.”
“I want members of our Muslim community to know that we continue to stand with them and condemn this totally unacceptable and clearly criminal behaviour,” Tory said. “Our work to fight Islamophobia will continue along with all our efforts to ensure no faith community in our city lives in fear.”
Amin said the way forward is through education and supporting each other as a community.
"This is not a time for division, it’s a time for unity," he said. "It’s a time for us to come together and wrap our arms around each other.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
For the first time in report's history, Canada's air quality worse than U.S.
Air quality in Canada is now worse than in the U.S., according to the 6th Annual World Air Quality Report. Of the 15 most polluted cities in the two countries, 14 were in Canada.
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
WATCH LIVE As former prime minister Mulroney lies in state, public tributes in Ottawa begin
Members of the public who wish to pay tribute to Brian Mulroney can visit his casket in Ottawa starting this afternoon.
BREAKING Roy McMurtry, former Ontario attorney general, dies at 91
CTV News has confirmed that former Ontario attorney general Roy McMurtry has died.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
DEVELOPING Canada's annual inflation rate ticked down to 2.8 per cent in February, defying expectations
Statistics Canada says the annual inflation rate edged down to 2.8 per cent in February.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.