Assault on Muslim mom appears "motivated by hate"
TORONTO -- Police in Toronto are investigating the assault and robbery of a Muslim woman, saying the incident appears "motivated by hate."
Police say two men beat the woman up Monday while she was heading to pick up her son from school.
Const. Victor Kwong says the attack was unprovoked and the men hurled bigoted slurs at her while trying to rip off her hijab.
Police say 2 male suspects called her a 'terrorist' and told her to go back to her country. Police looking for video pic.twitter.com/gGcFnP4wiw
— Linda Ward (@LindaWardCBC) November 17, 2015
"One of the males commented to the victim that she should go back to her country, that she was a terrorist," Staff Sgt. Hunter Smith told CBC News.
The woman was treated in a hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening.
Toronto Mayor John Tory condemned the attack on Twitter:
The anti-Muslim attack on a Toronto mother in Flemingdon Park is disgusting, unacceptable and not reflective of our city's values.
— John Tory (@JohnTory) November 17, 2015
The assault came two days after an Ontario mosque was set on fire in an act police are treating as a hate crime.
Police are still searching for suspects in the Saturday night blaze and say it is unclear if it was connected to the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris the previous day.