Attack in a Montreal mosque: a hate crime?

A Montreal mosque was the target of an attack around 5:00 a.m. Sunday morning, when a young Muslim man went to this place of worship in the city center, to carry out his prayer.

This is the Al Oumma Mosque, located at the intersection of rue Saint-Dominique and boulevard René-Lévesque.

The young faithful was chased by an individual who tried to attack him with a blunt object. The victim managed, in extremis, to escape the assailant and take refuge inside the mosque, without being injured. The scene, broadcast by TVA Nouvelles, was captured by surveillance cameras.

We can see the young man in a panic, knocking on the door of the establishment to get to safety. Following this, the attacker, who was wearing a balaclava, broke two glass doors and entered the prayer room. Facing several men, he then decides to turn back.

In the wake of this event, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) intervened quickly and neutralized the attacker. The 32-year-old man was arrested and later released. He will have to appear and will face charges of mischief, details agent Véronique Dubuc of the SPVM.

Investigators will try to determine if this is a premeditated attack and a hate crime, says the SPVM.

On Twitter, the federal deputy for Ville-Marie-Le Sud-Ouest Île-des-Sœurs, Marc Miller, described the attack as an “Islamophobic” act.

“I hope that this Islamophobic attack will be fully investigated by the SPVM! The faithful must feel safe when they gather for their prayers,” he said.