Police InvestigateSuspected Hate Crime at Montreal Islamic Centre
The Canadian Muslim Forum said the package contained what appeared to be an imitation severed human hand covered in fake blood.
Police said they received a 911 call around 2:30 p.m. reporting that one or more suspects had left a plastic bag containing an object covered in a red substance at the entrance of the Islamic Center of Verdun. The substance is being analyzed.
Police met with the centre’s director and transferred the case to the force’s hate crimes and incidents unit, which is reviewing surveillance footage from the area.
No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
“Children were frightened, families were shaken, and a place of worship and community gathering was turned into a scene of anxiety and intimidation,” The Canadian Muslim Forum said.
“This incident does not occur in a vacuum,” the organization said, adding it comes amid “a troubling rise in Islamophobia, online hate, and divisive rhetoric that increasingly targets Canadians of Muslim faith.”
Statistics Canada said in March that hate crimes reported to police in Canada increased from 1,817 in 2018 to 4,882 in 2024.
Incidents involving Islamophobia in Canada nearly tripled, growing from 84 reported crimes to 229, over the same period.
Source: GlobalNews
