A 38-year-old man is accused of swinging a bat at people while yelling racial slurs in a park in Port Perry.
Durham police said they were called to Palmer Park on Aug. 30 for reports of an armed person. However, when officers arrived, the suspect had left.
Officers, after speaking to witnesses and reviewing videos, learned that the suspect allegedly made threats while yelling racial slurs.
The suspect was later identified and arrested at his home in Scugog last week.
Police also executed a search warrant at the home and seized items related to the offence.
In a news release on Tuesday, they said Lucca Downey was charged with offence motivated by hatred – assault with a weapon, offence motivated by hatred – uttering threats and offence motivated by hatred – possessing weapon dangerous to the public.
Police believe there may be other victims and asked them to contact the hate crime unit or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
