A 38-year-old man has been charged following yet another hate-motivated attack in Edmonton.
At around 10:10 a.m. Wednesday, police responded to an assault at a residence in the Parkdale neighbourhood in central Edmonton.
Police said in a news release Friday afternoon that a Black man was walking along a residential street near his home when he was approached by a man who was “yelling racially-motivated obscenities.”
Without being provoked, police said the suspect pushed the man, who then tried to run away. Police allege the suspect was uttering death threats at the man as he chased the complainant into the backyard of the his home and assaulted him.
Beat officers who were in the area saw the chase and drove to the area, where a witness pointed police to the man’s home where the suspect was arrested.
EMS treated the 48-year-old man for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Joseph Gladue, 38, is charged with uttering death threats and assault causing bodily harm. The EPS Hate Crimes and Violent Extremism Unit is also recommending that Section 718.2 of the Criminal Code of Canada be applied in this case, which allows the courts to consider increased sentencing when there is evidence the offence was motivated by hatred.
The man who was assaulted and the suspect are not known to each other, according to police.
The EPS said this assault is not connected to two other recent “hate-motivated incidents” that have taken place in Edmonton in the last 10 days.
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The most recent incident took place at the Southgate Transit Centre on Tuesday. Police said a 23-year-old Black woman wearing a hijab entered the southeast doors of the LRT station when she was approached by a woman she didn’t know.
Without being provoked, police said the suspect is alleged to have attempted to hit the woman in the head with a shopping bag while yelling “racially-motivated obscenities at her.”
The victim avoided being struck, police said. She then ran past the woman, “as the accused continued to try and thwart her escape,” police said in a media release Wednesday morning.
An ETS Transit Peace Officer who was on scene was able to intervene and call police who took the suspect into custody.
Rene Ladouceur, 32, is charged with assault with a weapon and nine outstanding warrants for unrelated events.
The previous Tuesday, Dec. 8, two Somali women wearing hijabs were attacked in the Southgate Centre parking lot. Police said the Hate Crime and Violent Extremism Unit was working with investigators on the case.
“These individuals were targeted due to their race, therefore making this a hate-motivated crime,” Sgt. Gary Willits of the EPS Hate Crime and Violent Extremism Unit said last week.
Richard Bradley Stevens, 41, of Edmonton, was charged with two counts of assault and one count of mischief in relation to the Dec. 8 attack.
In a post on Facebook, the Alberta Muslim Public Affairs Council said it was deeply concerned about the most recent attack.
“We are in contact with the victim and support is being provided to him,” read the post.
“Again, we request all members of the Edmonton community to be cognizant of your surroundings. If you see an incident, call 911.”
Community leaders, police and politicians have condemned the attacks in recent days. On Wednesday, Mayor Don Iveson called the incidents “outright unacceptable and downright unEdmontonian.”
“This type of behaviour is not accepted in our city and it’s not going to be tolerated,” Edmonton police chief Dale McFee said Wednesday, adding the crimes aren’t reflective of the city.
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