Canada - Worshippers at Toronto mosque stop attacker armed with axe, bear spray, 19/03/22 *Arrest, Guilty*

[dotr]

Worshippers at Ontario mosque stop attacker armed with axe, bear spray | CBC News
''A man entered a mosque in Mississauga, Ont., west of Toronto, on Saturday morning and attacked the people gathered for Fajr, dawn prayer, with bear spray, Peel Regional Police say, adding that the man was also "brandishing a hatchet."

Police were called to the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre, near McAdam Road and Matheson Boulevard East, at about 7 a.m.

Peel police say a 24-year-old man has been taken into custody, and investigators are "considering all possible motivations, including hate motivation." Charges have yet to be laid.

Some people suffered "minor injuries" from the bear spray, according to a Peel police news release.''

"The man came in carrying an axe, pepper spray and other "sharp edged weapons," Hindy said.''

"Several congregants bravely were able to stop him in his tracks," he said. "Our community will never be broken and we refuse to be intimidated."

'People are obviously quite shaken up'
Nadia Hasan, chief operating officer of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, said about 20 people were in the mosque at the time.

"A number of men who were there for prayer tackled [the armed man] and they apprehended him until the police came," she said.

Hasan said there were remnants of the bear spray in the building, still causing people to cough by Saturday afternoon.''

 

[dotr]

Mosque members 'subdue' man armed with hatchet and bear spray | Toronto Sun
''Police said Mohammad Moiz Omar, a 24-year-old man from Mississauga, was arrested on Saturday. They said they’re considering “all possible motivations,” including hate, for the incident, and charges are pending.''

 

[LadyL]

I just saw the news. I knew you'd be on it dotr. Unreal!

 

[dotr]

June 8 2022

Bear spray attack on Mississauga mosque was an act of terrorism, police say

A terrorism designation applies when prosecutors believe a violent crime was committed for a political, religious or ideological cause, with the intention of intimidating some segment of the public.

www.thestar.com

A man accused of attacking worshippers at a Mississauga mosque with a hatchet and bear spray earlier this year is now facing terrorism charges.

Mohammad Moiz Omar, 24, was arrested on March 19 after police say he entered the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre in Mississauga and unleashed bear spray at worshippers during the Fajr, or dawn prayer, while allegedly wielding a hatchet.

Several congregants were able to restrain the attacker before his arrest. Worshippers received minor injuries due to the bear spray.

Police at the time called the attack a “hate-motivated incident”

On Wednesday, the Deputy Director of Public Prosecution Service of Canada and the Ministry of the Attorney General consented to treat the case as a terrorism offence, Peel police said in a news release.''

 

[JerseyGirl]

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6917376

The man who assaulted worshippers at a mosque in Mississauga, Ont., last year with bear spray and an axe has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

Mohammad Moiz Omar "intended to perpetrate a mass casualty event" when he entered the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre during early morning prayer on March 19, 2022 and sprayed bear spray toward congregants while swinging a hatchet, according to an agreed statement of facts.