Calgary police have charged a man with assault in connection to an attack on a downtown CTrain platform that was allegedly hate-motivated.
The victims, a mother and son, were assaulted by a stranger while at the Centre Street LRT Station on Sunday, May 30.
“The man pushed the son and began to follow the mother until she received assistance from a bystander,” police said in a news release. “The victims felt they were racially targeted.”
Officers took a man matching the suspect’s description into custody on an unrelated matter that same day.
Police said further investigation found the man is believed to be responsible for not only the assault on the Centre Street CTrain platform, but at least four other incidents on May 30 and 31.
Police said all of those assaults were “against people believed to be targeted due to race or religion.”
“Four incidents were reported to police while several others were observed in the evidence gathered on CCTV.”
Officers have charged 31-year-old Carter Justin MacDonald with two counts of assault, one count of causing a disturbance in public and breach of a probation order.
He is scheduled to appear in court on June 9.
“Every Calgarian has the right to feel safe in our city,” police said. “Those who seek to cause harm and demonstrate hateful behaviour will not be tolerated and will be held accountable for their actions.”