Masked suspect sought after Ontario Muslim student, 11, subjected to death threats: police

Police say a suspect wearing ski mask threatened an 11-year-old Muslim student’s life at an Oshawa, Ont. public school.

Durham Regional Police responded to the Woodcrest Public School, near Stevenson Road North and Adelaide Avenue West, around 10:20 a.m. Thursday.

Police said the suspect approached the schoolyard and shouted anti-Muslim comments and threatened a Muslim student’s life.

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The student then reported the incident to school officials and police launched an investigation.

“We believe in and embrace equity, diversity, and inclusive practices. We do not tolerate or accept this type of behaviour toward our students,” Terry Simzer, spokesman for the Durham District School Board, said in a statement.

“The safety of our students remains our top priority and while this incident is certainly an isolated one that could have occurred at any school in the GTA, we are taking extra precautions to ensure that our students are not subjected to threats of this nature.”

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Police describe the suspect as a man standing 6′, approximately 30 to 40 years old, wearing a black sweater, black pants and a ski masking hiding his identity.

Const. George Tudos said there had been at least six similar anti-Muslim incidents in the Durham Region since the beginning of the year.

Tudos said two bus stops in Oshawa and another in Ajax, Ont. were vandalized with “anti-Muslim graffiti” and police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

The Durham District School Board was not immediately available for comment.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Det-Const. Hartry of the Central East Criminal Investigations Bureau at 1-888-579-1520 ext. 2732 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).