Suspect in custody after women wearing hijabs threatened with noose at Edmonton LRT station
CBC News | Posted: December 6, 2016 11:56 PM | Last Updated: December 7, 2016
'This is for you,' suspect allegedly told women
Edmonton police have a suspect in custody in connection with a possible hate crime aimed at two hijab-wearing women.
Police made the announcement Tuesday, a day after providing a photograph of the man to media.
According to police, the man, believed to be in his 60s, approached two women wearing hijabs at the University of Alberta LRT station last month, pulled a rope from his pocket, tied a noose and said, "This is for you."
The man then proceeded to sing O Canada, which was caught on video by one of the women, police said.
Police thanked the public for helping the Hate Crimes Unit with the investigation.
Further details will be released when they become available, police said in a news release.
Meanwhile, the Islamic community is speaking out about the incident.
"It's very unfortunate to say the least," said Arangzeb Qureshi, with the Alberta Muslim Public Affairs Council. "This is Islamophobia at its worst."
Qureshi credits technology with holding people who may be committing a hate crime to account.
"It's an advantage for people who are unfortunately going through this type of discrimination."