Man yelled ‘I’m going to kill you’ while chasing down Muslim women in Meadowlands parking lot: Hamilton police
A Muslim mother and adult daughter fled from an Ancaster parking lot Monday night after police say a man nearly struck them with his car, chased them down and threatened to kill them.
Hamilton police say the interaction began at around 9:30 p.m. when a man allegedly almost hit one of the victims as he pulled out of the parking lot plaza at 1000 Golf Links Rd. in the Meadowlands.
The mother - whose age police have yet to confirm - and her 26-year-old daughter were fresh off a trip to a nearby Shoppers Drug Mart.
Const. Indy Bharaj said Tuesday that the situation escalated when the driver began uttering threats and yelling slurs targeting Muslims" toward the victims, who, fearful for their safety, immediately ran across the street and hid behind some bushes.
The driver then proceeded to drive around the lot and search for the victims, police said.
He located one of the victims and yelled, I'm going to kill you,' which resulted in the victim coming out of the bushes, running and yelling for help," Bharaj said.
Several witnesses in the area intervened before the driver quickly fled.
The incident is being investigated as a hate crime.
Police have arrested a 40-year-old man from Hamilton who is set to appear in court Wednesday.
He is charged with three counts of uttering threat to cause death, two counts of assault with a weapon, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and failure to comply with probation.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims condemned the incident in a statement Tuesday that was shared on behalf of the family.
We are shaken but unbroken after the attack on our family. Let us be clear: this individual attempted to terrorize our family," said the statement from the family.
In light of the London attack, this is incredibly terrifying for our family. Enough is enough. The government must commit to taking stronger action. Our family could have been seriously hurt - and we cannot allow these things to keep happening."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a tweet he was deeply disturbed" by the incident, calling it violent, hateful and abhorrent behaviour.
It has no place in our country or any of our communities," Trudeau said. We will continue to stand together and take action."
Bharaj said the suspect is believed to have acted alone. He added that the man remained in the driver's seat throughout the incident and never searched for the victims on foot.
Prior to the arrest, Bharaj said police had a suspect in mind" after they identified a licence plate of interest through surveillance footage and witnesses.
While the initial interaction - when the man nearly hit the victims in the lot - is believed to have been accidental, it escalated from there to slurs toward the Muslim community and the individuals," Bharaj said.
Police have dispatched additional patrol units to the area where the incident occurred.
Bharaj said police's victim services division planned to meet with the mother and daughter Tuesday afternoon to provide resources and help them through the traumatic experience.
We believe this is a one-off incident and we're going to keep working with our community partners," he said. Hate has no place in Hamilton and Hamilton police are taking this very seriously."
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact acting Det. Sgt. Michael Hall at 905-546-3851.
To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or submit a tip at crimestoppershamilton.com.
Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com