Ontario man arrested after 'blatant act of hatred' that saw death threats hurled at Muslim mother and daughter

TORONTO -

An Ontario man has been arrested in connection with an incident in which a Muslim mother and daughter from Hamilton were the victims of a hate crime and assault, receiving death threats and racial slurs.

On July 12, Hamilton police say that a mother and daughter were walking through a parking lot in the Ancaster Meadowlands when a man pulled out of a parking spot and almost struck one of the victims.

Police said the interaction quickly escalated to the suspect uttering death threats towards the victims while hurling racial slurs targeting the Muslim community.

The mother and daughter ran across the street and hid to evade the suspect, who police said was searching for the pair.

Investigators say the suspect located the victims and then threatened to kill them before one of the victims ran screaming for help and witnesses intervened.

“To those individuals who witnessed the attack on Monday night and who intervened: Thank you, it took courage. Your actions demonstrate the community we want to be,” Bergen said.

In a news release issued Wednesday, police announced they'd arrested 40-year-old Cambridge, Ont. resident Vince Licata.

He is facing three counts of uttering threats to cause death, two counts of assault with a weapon, one count of dangerous operation and one count of failure to comply.

Licata is scheduled to appear in a Hamilton courtroom on Thursday. 

Reaction to the incident was swift, with even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau weighing in on what he described as a disturbing attack.

“I strongly condemn this violent, hateful, and abhorrent behaviour. It has no place in our country or any of our communities. We will continue to stand together and take action,” he said in a tweet published Tuesday evening.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims issued echoed the PM’s comments while urging the federal government to commit to taking stronger action to combat Islamophobia.

"We at the National Council of Canadian Muslims were deeply saddened to hear of yet another terrifying, seemingly- Islamophobia motivated attack on two Muslim women wearing hijab in Hamilton," it reads.

"Enough is enough. The government must commit to taking stronger action. Our family could have been seriously hurt -and we cannot allow these things to keep happening."

Ontario NDP leader and Hamilton Centre MPP Andrea Horwarth also spoke out on the incident via Twitter.

"My heart is with the women who endured this hateful attack, their family & Muslim communities across Hamilton and Ontario. Everyone deserves to walk down the street in peace, without fear," she said. 

Anyone with information related to the investigation is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.

With files from CTV News Toronto's Abby Neufeld