'Kill Trudeau,' graffiti found on Transit Windsor bench
'Threats of this nature are taken seriously no matter who they're made to'
Graffiti scrawled on a bench in a Transit Windsor bus shelter could be viewed as a call for the assassination of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Someone recently used a black marker to write, "Kill him. Kill Trudeau," three times in large letters on the slats of the bench at Wyandotte Street E. and Jefferson Boulevard.
CBC's Laura DaSilva snapped shots of the graffiti and brought them to Windsor Police Service Headquarters.
Windsor police spokesman Const. Andrew Drouillard said the message is definitely considered a threat. Whoever is responsible would face charges of uttering threats and mischief.
"We would want to know that it isn't somebody living nearby or someone in the Yellow Pages," Drouillard said. "Threats of this nature are taken seriously no matter who they're made to."
The graffiti doesn't mention the prime minister's first name and a quick search of Canada411 online returns seven listings for the name Trudeau in Windsor.
Tough to prove
Drouillard said it's more difficult to prove the "target" of the message.
"In a case like this, we'd have to prove the person intended it for a specific person. If we could prove who that person is, then we could lay a charge of uttering threats," Drouillard said. "We would definitely investigate who made the threat and who it was directed to."
Drouillard urges people to report any such graffiti or threats as soon as they see them. The more time passes, the harder it is to track people down, he said.
Eric Koski, a CBC audience member, shared a photo of the graffiti with CBC Windsor and called it "horrifying to see this."
"[It's] a little messed up and too close to home," Koski said in a Facebook message to CBC Windsor.
No one had reported the incident to police.
The graffiti is the latest in a spate of threatening words in Windsor and Essex County. In LaSalle, police there have been trying to find out who has been spray painting anti-police graffiti.
It's also the latest act of mischief to target Transit Windsor bus shelters. Earlier this year, someone smashed the windows of 20 shelters on the east end. Damage was estimated to be $15,000.