A man has been charged after an unprovoked, hate-motivated attack on patio patrons and the owner at a downtown Ottawa restaurant, police said Tuesday.
The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) said the incident occurred at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 2 in the 300 block of Somerset Street West, an area with numerous LGBTQ2-friendly bars.
A pedestrian approached a restaurant on the street and verbally confronted the owner and patrons on the patio, according to police.
The OPS said the man, unprovoked, started yelling profanities and homophobic slurs at them and threw several items towards them, damaging the property and injuring the owner.
The suspect was arrested the following day by front-line officers.
Ottawa police said Tuesday that 66-year-old James Hall has been charged with assault and mischief under $5,000 in relation to the incident.
Hall was scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 4.
OPS said front-line officers were assisted by the recently reinstated hate crimes unit, which Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly said would return earlier this year amid rising annual numbers of hate-related incidents in the city.