Suspect seen spraying antisemitic graffiti near sculpture outside Art Gallery of Ontario
![Graffiti A suspect accused of spraying anti-Semitic graffiti on a sculpture outside of the AGO is shown. (Toronto Police Seervice)](/content/dam/cp24/en/images/2022/7/15/graffiti-1-5989795-1657925091017.jpg)
Police have launched a hate crime investigation after a suspect allegedly sprayed antisemitic graffiti near a sculpture outside of the Art Gallery of Ontario earlier this week.
It happened at the northeast corner of the gallery near Dundas and McCaul streets on Wednesday night.
Police say that a man was observed using white spray-paint near the bronze "Couch Monster" sculpture, which depicts an elephant pieced together using sofas, armchairs and other furniture.
The Hate Crime Unit was subsequently consulted and the incident is now being treated as a suspected hate-motivated offence, according to police.
An image of the suspect has also been released.
He is described as being in his 50s with a medium build, brown and grey shoulder-length hair with a balding spot on the top of his head and grey and white cropped facial stubble. He was last seen wearing a black T-shirt with a "Tobacconist" logo on the front, a black sleeveless hoodie with faded black and grey jeans, black Adidas sneakers with blue soles and a black-banded wristwatch on each wrist. He was also carrying a black drawstring bag.
It is just the latest incident involving antisemitic graffiti in Toronto.
Earlier on Friday, police also released surveillance camera images of two men who allegedly sprayed antisemitic graffiti in three separate locations in North York last month.
Those incidents are believed to have happened in the Yonge Street and Empress Avenue area in the early hours of June 9.
Two suspects wanted in connection with an alleged incident of hate-motivated graffiti in Toronto are seen in this surveillance image. (Toronto Police Service)
The first suspect is described as 16 to 20 years old with a slim build. He was last seen wearing all black clothing and a blue face mask.
The second suspect is described as16 to 20 years old with a medium build. He was last seen wearing a dark coloured hat, a grey long sleeved shirt and jacket with reflective stripes down the arms, black shorts, black shoes with white soles, and a blue mask.
Police are currently investigating the North York incident as mischief but the Hate Crime Unit has been made aware and will be supporting the investigation as needed.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6929369.1718622359!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
Nuclear-armed nations are deepening their reliance on their nuclear weapons, watchdog finds
The world's nine nuclear-armed states continue to modernize their nuclear weapons as the countries deepened their reliance on such deterrence in 2023, a Swedish think tank said Monday.
A new tax filing system could give Canadians more than $1 billion in unclaimed benefits: PBO
Canadians would get more than $1 billion in unclaimed benefits each year through an automatic tax filing system, according to a report published by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO).
2 Canadian cities ranked high on global list of most expensive places to buy a home
As Canadians continue to struggle with the extremely high cost of buying a home in some of the country’s major urban centres, a new global report is underscoring just how expensive some of those markets are.
Israeli officials say Netanyahu has dissolved the War Cabinet after key partner bolted government
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved the influential War Cabinet tasked with steering the war in Gaza, Israeli officials said Monday, a move that comes days after a key member of the body bolted the government over frustrations surrounding the Israeli leader's handling of the war.
World's first weekly insulin injection coming to Canada in 2 weeks, manufacturer says
Many people with diabetes in Canada will soon be able to take insulin once a week instead of daily, drug manufacturer Novo Nordisk announced on Monday.
At least 8 dead after trains collided in eastern India in Darjeeling district, a tourist hotspot
A cargo train rammed into a passenger train in India's eastern state of West Bengal on Monday, killing at least eight people and injuring several others, officials said.
16-year-old boy fatally shot outside Scarborough plaza identified
Police have identified a teenage boy who was fatally shot in Scarborough’s L’Amoreaux neighbourhood on Saturday afternoon.
1 in 4 parents say their young child has bedtime anxiety, new poll finds
One in four parents say they have trouble getting their anxious child to sleep, while one in five resort to giving their kids melatonin, according to a new poll.
George Clooney and Julia Roberts help Joe Biden raise US$30 million-plus at a star-studded Hollywood gala
Some of Hollywood's brightest stars headlined a fundraiser for U.S. President Joe Biden that took in a record US$30 million-plus for a Democratic candidate, according to his campaign, in hopes of energizing would-be supporters for a White House contest they said may rank among the most consequential in U.S. history.