Police investigate racist messages sent to Waterloo business owner

Selam Debs says messages reached level 'that is cause for serious concern'

Image | Shutterstock - medium file Typing on laptop

Caption: Police in Waterloo region are investigating comments made to a Waterloo business owner believed to be 'hate motivated.' (maradon 333/Shutterstock)

Hateful and racist messages sent to a Waterloo business are now under criminal investigation by the Waterloo Regional Police Service.
Selam Debs, a yoga studio owner and an anti-racism educator, identified herself as the business owner who was targeted. She released a statement Monday on Twitter in which she said she received thousands of emails after she posted on social media about a protest of people driving across Canada to Ottawa dubbed the Freedom Convoy.
"As a result of my post, the level of vitriol, hate and threats that I have received has turned into something that is cause for serious concern and I will not be silent," Debs said in her statement.
Debs wrote that she has been impacted mentally and physically. She has been unable to sleep and has experienced panic attacks. She also said she had reported the comments to police.
The statement also suggested calls to action, including for people to share Debs' letter and to publicly condemn acts of white supremacy and violence.
"Silence is complicity," Debs' statement said.
CBC Kitchener-Waterloo reached out to Debs who declined an interview at this time, but did agree to have her name used in this story because "it is essential that this story is shared and people become aware."

Communities 'harmed'

Kitchener Centre MPP Laura Mae Lindo, who is also the NDP's anti-racism critic, said what happened to Debs "is not disconnected from what's happening in Ottawa" where protests were held on the weekend and entered a fifth day on Tuesday.
Lindo's comments came Monday morning at a press conference to announce Joanne Weston as the NDP candidate for Kitchener South-Hespeler. She also spoke about the Nazi symbols and Confederate flags seen at the Ottawa demonstration.
"If those are flying, we need to elect people that will demand that they come down," Lindo said. "We need to elect people that will recognize that communities are now harmed and navigating trauma because of what they have seen, witnessed and experienced over the course of this weekend."
In a tweet that included Debs' statement, Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region said: "We know that BIPOC women and racialized communities experience greater levels of violence than other groups. This needs to stop."

Police investigation

Police said in a release that they received a report on Thursday about reports of "hateful and racist" comments that were made online "believed to [be] hate motivated" and those comments are under criminal investigation.
In a release on Monday, the service said, "we denounce all forms of racial and/or hate-motivated comments and incidents."
"These types of incidents will not be tolerated in Waterloo region. We want to reassure the community that we are actively investigating and committing resources to the investigation to ensure those responsible are fully investigated," the police service said.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call police at 519-570-9777 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.