Hate Crime officers are seeking this man for allegedly writing hate graffiti on stores at The West Mall and The Queensway.
A man is sought by police for allegedly writing hate-motivated graffiti on the windows of several stores in The West Mall and The Queensway area.
Officers of the Toronto Police Hate Crime Unit said the incident occurred on December 21 around 7:10 p.m.
“The man wrote hate-motivated graffiti on the windows of several stores and then fled the area,” police said in a news release.
Hate crime suspect is on the run from police, who are experiencing a record amount of hate this year.
The suspect is described as having a medium build, wearing a black hooded puffer jacket, black jeans, white shoes, black/orange gloves and ski goggles.
Police have released an image of the suspect obtained from security cameras.
When suspected hate-motivated offences are reported to police, the investigation could be led by a Divisional investigator with the support of the Hate Crime Unit (HCU), or in some cases, will be investigated exclusively by the HCU, according to police.
Police have their hands filled with hundreds of occurrences of hate crime this year.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-3500, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com
Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said earlier this month that between January 1 and December 17 there were 338 reported hate crimes, an increase of 41 per cent compared to the same period in 2022, when 239 were reported.
The statistics includes 147 anti-Semitic hate crimes reported, versus 81 reported during the same period in 2022; and 37 anti-Muslim/Palestinian/Arab hate crimes reported, versus 14 reported during the same period in 2022.
Police have added more officers to the Hate Crime Unit to deal with the problem, which stems from the war in the Middle East.
Demkiw said between October 7 and December 17 there were 98 hate crime occurrences reported compared to 48 in 2022 during the same time period. This includes 56 anti-Semitic hate crimes reported, versus 18 during the same period last year; 20 anti-Muslim/Palestinian/Arab hate crimes reported, versus 2 during the same period last year.
There has also been 11 reported hate crimes targeting the LGBTQ2S+ communities during this period, versus eight during the same period last year.
Among all of the hate crimes reported between October 7 and December 17, some 53 per cent have been anti-Semitic.
Since October 7, the HCU has made 43 arrests and laid 96 charges related to hate crime occurrences. Of the 96 charges laid, 29 per cent have been mischief related and 17 per cent have been assault related.