Thunder Bay police investigate alleged racial violence after eggs thrown at pedestrians

Police in Thunder Bay, Ont., are investigating two separate incidents of eggs being thrown from vehicles and hitting pedestrians, and are asking anyone who's had it happen to them to report it.

According to a media release by city police, the first incident was reported just before 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 28.

Officers were dispatched to the area of the Travelodge on Memorial Avenue to assist a man that was reportedly assaulted and bleeding.

Police said when they located the 21-year-old man, he told officers that he was struck by an egg thrown from a vehicle earlier in the evening while walking on Wentworth Crescent.

The victim was unable to provide descriptions of the vehicle or occupant, according to Wednesday's statement. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance for treatment.

4-door silver hatchback identified

Police said the second incident occurred approximately half an hour later in the Red River Road and Cumberland Street area.

Officers spoke to a 28-year-old man who said he was standing with two other men when a vehicle — described as being a four door silver hatchback — with multiple passengers drove by and threw eggs at them while making comments described as racist.

The man was not injured, according to police, and the area was checked for vehicles last seen heading north on Cumberland Street. Thunder Bay police described the car as being a four door silver hatchback.

A police spokesperson said she couldn't confirm at the early stage of the investigation whether the victims were Indigenous, but noted that the police's Aboriginal liaison unit is investigating the case, as it does whenever there's suspicion that a crime has a racial motivation. Police said they're trying to determine if the two incidents are related. 

Several First Nations youth who testified last year at an inquest into the deaths of their peers said they have often had things such as eggs or garbage thrown at them while walking on the streets of Thunder Bay.

Anyone with information about either incident — or who has had similar things happen to them — are being asked to contact police.

"We know these types of incidents go vastly underreported to police," Cst. Julie Tilbury said. "Anytime incidents like this — they're concerning to us because people should feel safe walking down the street."