Woman wearing hijab attacked in London, Ont.
Police are searching for a woman they allege attacked a woman wearing a hijab at a supermarket in London, Ont.
“We’re hoping somebody can help us identify the suspect, so we can find out what the motivation was behind the assault,” London Police Const. Sandasha Bough told the Star.
Police allege the suspect, who had her long black hair tied in a ponytail and was wearing a red Canada T-shirt, approached the woman and her 4-month old son on Monday afternoon at the Superking Supermarket in south London.
“It was reported that the unidentified woman approached the victim and began yelling at her for no apparent reason,” according to a London police news release.
“The woman spat on the victim, then punched her several times. The woman grabbed onto the victim’s hijab and attempted to pull it off of her head before pulling the victim’s hair. The suspect then left the area.”
The victim was left with minor injuries.
Bough explained that once the woman is apprehended, the Street Gang Unit will also do a review “to determine if the assault itself has elements of a hate-motivated offence.”
If so, the matter will be presented to a Crown attorney, she said. It wouldn’t result in an additional charge, but would be considered an aggravating factor at sentencing should the woman be convicted.
Police are attempting to obtain video surveillance of the incident. A Superking employee told the Star they were still reviewing footage to see if the attack was caught on tape.
The incident comes just weeks after a London man said he was attacked and punched repeatedly while sitting with his girlfriend in a park.
Mohammad Sharifi alleged that two men began yelling from across the street, before approaching the pair and “allegedly calling Sharifi an Arab and telling him to go back to his country,” the CBC reported. Sharifi said he suffered a concussion from the attack.
London police said two 24-year-old men, Blaire Gibson and Justin Smart, were arrested for assault and the incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime.