Man sought in suspected hate-motivated offence involving a menorah on display along Queen Street East in the Beach
Toronto police are requesting the public’s assistance identifying a man wanted in a suspected hate-motivated mischief incident that allegedly took place in the Beach last Sunday.
According to police, a man allegedly grabbed a light fixture in the shape of menorah that was in the Queen Street East and Glen Manor Drive area and broke it. Police were called about the incident just before 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 3.
The suspect is described as male, 20 to 30 years-old, with a thin build, short black hair, and black facial hair. He was wearing a yellow hooded sweater, black jeans with chain on the right side, a white cloth hanging from his rear pants pocket and black running shoes.
Police have released an image of the man they are looking for in the hopes he can be identified.
Police are seeking to identify this man in connection with the incident in the Queen Street East and Glen Manor Drive area.
An video of the incident can be found here.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-3500, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.
In a news release on the afternoon of March 6, Toronto police said the incident is being considered as a suspected hate-motivated offence.
“When suspected hate-motivated offences are reported to police, the investigation could be led by a Divisional investigator with the support of the Hate Crime Unit (HCU), or in some cases, will be investigated exclusively by the HCU,” said the news release.
“If it is alleged a criminal offence was committed (such as assault or mischief) and it is believed to have been motivated by bias, prejudice or hate, the officer-in-charge may consult with the Crown. If a person is charged and convicted of the offence, the Judge will take into consideration hate as an aggravating factor when imposing a sentenceWilful promotion of hatred and advocating genocide are hate propaganda (hate speech) offences which require the Attorney General’s consent to lay charges. These charges are often laid at a later time.”
