OttawaOttawa police have arrested and charged a 30-year-old man in connection with last week’s assault on an OC Transpo bus, which the city’s Muslim community has denounced as a hate-motivated attack.30-year-old man charged with harassment, assault, uttering threats and inciting hateThe assault allegedly took place on an OC Transpo bus in Kanata. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)Ottawa police have arrested and charged a 30-year-old man in connection with last week’s alleged assault against a young Muslim woman on an OC Transpo bus in Kanata.Police announced on Wednesday that they charged the Ottawa man with three counts of criminal harassment, as well as one count each of assault, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, and inciting hate in a public place.Police are not naming the man, saying mental health issues were a contributing factor. He appeared in court on Wednesday.The attack took place on Aug. 11. At the time, police referred to it as a “hate-motivated incident” and said the victim was a Muslim woman in her late teens. They described the suspect as a thin white man and said he had no relationship with the victim.While the victim did not speak to media, members of the city’s Muslim community told CBC that she was shaken by the incident. The Kanata Muslim Association held a rally last week condemning Islamophobia and pushing for safety on public transit.ABOUT THE AUTHORArthur White-Crummey is a reporter at CBC Ottawa. He has previously worked as a reporter in Saskatchewan covering the courts, city hall and the provincial legislature. You can reach him at arthur.white-crummey@cbc.ca.
Police make arrest in ‘hate-motivated’ assault on Muslim woman in Kanata
