Police have arrested two teenagers and an 18-year-old after offensive flyers were distributed in at least one Ajax, Ont., school with the phone numbers of two teenage girls.
After an investigation, Durham Regional Police officers — who initially thought the flyers may be designed to incite hatred — concluded they were likely meant to cause “distress” to the girls, potentially as an act of revenge.
Police said the investigation began on the afternoon of May 10, when officers were told offensive flyers were being hung in Rossland Road West and Ravenscroft Road area of Ajax. The flyers contained “an offensive message” and the phone numbers of two young women who didn’t know their details were being published, according to police.
In a tweet on Friday, Ajax Mayor Shaun Collier said he was outraged by the flyers, which he said had been found in multiple schools.
“The flyer uses dehumanizing anti-Black commentary and imagery,” he said, calling them “disgusting.”
“We decry and bring attention to incidents of hatred to call out the alarming and disgusting conduct and to let impacted communities know that we stand in solidarity with them,” the tweet read. “We can and will do more to prevent racism in our town.”
The police investigation, however, suggests the flyers themselves may not have been hate-motivated or public incitements of hatred. In a statement, investigators suggested revenge may have been the motivation.
“A 17-year-old male had contact with both female victims prior, and it is believed as an act of revenge he created the flyers with their phone numbers in the hopes the content would cause them to receive a negative response from the community,” police said.
A 15-year-old, 17-year-old and 18-year-old were arrested and charged with five counts of harassment by means of repeated telecommunications. All three accused are male.
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