Two Canadians have been arrested for attempting to forcibly enter a mosque in Scarborough, Toronto on Tuesday.
The Toronto police said that they had received a call at around 11:50 AM (local time) from the Islamic Institute of Toronto located near Morningside Avenue and Finch Avenue East.
Witnesses told the police that a man and a woman had threatened the building staff while trying to barge in. One witness claimed that the trespassers had threatened to set off an explosive.
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However, the police had found no weapon or explosive when they made the arrests, and are yet to release the details of the charges against the suspects.
The Toronto police issued a statement soon after the arrests, saying that the suspects were allegedly under the influence of illicit drugs.
The statement read: “While there is no evidence to suggest this is hate-motivated at this time, out of an abundance of caution, our Hate Crime Unit has been notified and will support the ongoing investigation”.
Here is what Omar Essawi, who had called the police, told CNBC: “We noticed two people — a white male and a white female — attempting to enter the front of the building”.
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Essawi and his business partner had initially thought of the suspects as delivery staff but they had been empty-handed and aggressive.
“They got aggressive with regards to trying to get in the building and started kicking the doors. My business partner drove around to ask if they needed help, to which the male responded he was here to detonate an explosive,” he stated.
Essawi said that it was at this point that he had called the police.
