TORONTO — Toronto police are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying a man accused of making anti-Sikh remarks and racial slurs before allegedly stabbing a Sikh victim in the leg during an unprovoked encounter near Toronto’s waterfront.
The incident occurred Saturday in the area of Queens Quay and Lower Spadina Avenue. Toronto Police Service officers were called to the area following reports of a person armed with a knife.
According to investigators, the suspect approached the victim and a witness during what police describe as an unprovoked interaction. Police allege that the man made anti-Sikh utterances and racial slurs before attacking the victim with a weapon.
The victim sustained injuries to the leg that police describe as non-life-threatening. The incident is being investigated as a suspected hate-motivated assault involving a weapon.
Police described the suspect as a male approximately five-foot-six in height with black hair. At the time of the incident, he was reportedly wearing a navy-blue, short-sleeved jersey featuring the NFL “Sunday Ticket” logo on the back, with white stripes extending from the base of the neck toward both armpits.
He was also wearing blue jeans with a dark grease mark on the left calf and grey-and-black New Balance running shoes.
The Toronto Police Service Hate Crime Unit is continuing the investigation and is appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident or has information that could assist investigators in identifying the suspect to come forward.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Toronto Police Service Hate Crime Unit at 416-808-3505 or provide information anonymously through Crime Stoppers.
Police have not announced an arrest in connection with the investigation. The allegations have not been tested in court, and the suspect is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.