A Canadian Muslim woman was targeted at a public library in what police called an unprovoked weekend attack by a woman who tried to remove and set the woman’s hijab on fire.
Durham Regional Police officers responded to an assault call around noon Saturday at the Ajax Public Library in Ontario, about 50 miles east of Toronto.
“Officers spoke with the victim who advised she was in the library studying when she was approached by an unknown female,” police said in a news release Sunday. “The female began yelling profanities at the victim and throwing objects at her head.”
Police did not clarify what the attacker yelled at the victim.
Police said the attacker also tried to remove the victim’s hijab and poured “an unknown liquid on it” before she grabbed a lighter and tried to set the hijab on fire.
The victim screamed for help, and the library’s security intervened, police said.
“The suspect fled the library but was located by officers a few hours later and taken into custody without incident,” police said.
Kaley-Ann Freier, 25, was arrested and charged with two counts of assault with a weapon and three counts of failure to comply with a probation order, police said, adding that “she was held for a bail hearing.”
It is not clear whether Freier has an attorney.
The investigation continues, police said, adding that “investigators are required to consult with the Crown Attorney’s office to determine whether the evidence meets the legal threshold for hate to be considered a factor.”
Durham Regional Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Crown Attorney’s Office deferred to the Attorney General of Ontario’s Office, which said “it would be inappropriate to comment on a specific investigation.
Police ask anyone with information about the incident to get in touch with the West Division Criminal Investigation Bureau.
A statement from the victim was read at a news conference Monday by members of Canada’s Muslim community and local Ajax officials, according to CTV.
“I never imagined that a visit to my favorite, quiet corner of the library would turn into one of the most terrifying moments of my life,” the statement read. “I was simply going to study, as I had many times before, when I noticed a woman murmuring and cursing.”
According to the statement, the woman tried to ignore it before the attacker began throwing objects, and she considered speaking to the librarian, but the “situation escalated” before she could.
“I can’t stop thinking, ‘What if the lighter had worked? What if my hijab had caught on fire?’” the statement read. The victim also said in her statement that she has daughters who wear the hijab and that fears that something similar could happen to them.
Canada is the leading country among G7 nations when it comes to Islamphobia-related deaths in the past seven years, said Omar Khamissa, the National Council of Canadian Muslims’ chief operating officer, who spoke at the news conference Monday.
“What happened on Saturday could’ve easily increased that number,” Khamissa said. “Canadians need to know this, they need to know this especially right now as we’re in an election cycle.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement on X that what happened Saturday “is not an isolated incident.”
“Islamophobia is real, it is dangerous, and it must stop,” he wrote.
New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh called the attack “horrifying.”
“This hate-motivated attack is a reminder that divisive rhetoric is a stain on our country and not part of our Canadian values,” he wrote on X.
—NBC
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