Worshipers at a Canadian mosque confronted and restrained an axe-wielding man who attacked them with bear spray during Saturday morning prayers, police say.
A faithful took the ax from the man’s hands and held him until the police arrived, local media report.
A 24-year-old man was arrested at the scene in suburban Mississauga and has since been charged.
Some worshipers suffered minor injuries from the bear spray, the mosque’s imam said.
One worshiper called the experience “terrifying” and described hearing a scream before turning around to see a man holding an ax and using bear spray, similar to pepper spray, on three people.
“By the time I was spraying, the people in the front row realized something was up and one of the young men turned around and dropped the ax before I had a chance to use it,” Noorani Sairally told Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail.
The young man then held the alleged assailant until police arrived, the witness said.
“Before he could cause harm to worshipers, several parishioners bravely were able to stop him,” the imam said, describing the moment the attacker entered the site.
“Our community will never be broken and we refuse to be bullied,” he added.
Police named the man they arrested as Mohammad Moiz Omar and charged him with six crimes including assault with a weapon and administration of a noxious substance with the intent to endanger life or cause bodily harm.
After initial uncertainty about a possible motive, investigators now say they believe the attack was a “hate-motivated incident.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was one of several high-profile Canadian public figures to condemn the attack, calling it “incredibly disturbing” and applauding the courage of worshipers at the mosque.
Canada’s Muslim community has been the target of a series of deadly attacks, including in 2017 when a shooting at a Quebec City mosque killed six people and injured eight others.
And last year, four members of the same Muslim family were killed after they were hit by a vehicle in London, Ontario, in what police described as a deliberate Islamophobic attack.
Add Comment