Toronto

Toronto police arrest man wanted for allegedly assaulting woman wearing hijab on Durham Transit bus

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Video circulating online appears to show a man kicking a woman and yelling profanities at her. John Mussleman reports.

A man has been arrested after an alleged hate-motivated assault aboard a Durham Regional Transit bus in Scarborough earlier this year.

Police say the incident occurred on April 13 in the area of Progress Avenue and Milner Avenue.

The suspect allegedly approached the victim while on the bus and made several derogatory and anti-Muslim comments.

The suspect then assaulted the victim before exiting the bus a short time later, police alleged in a news release.

The incident was captured on video and was posted on social media by the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM).

According to the group, the victim was a woman wearing a hijab, and at one point, the suspect called her a “terrorist.” In the video, a man is heard yelling expletives before getting up and kicking the woman.

On Wednesday, police arrested and charged Thirukumaran Kandasamy, 36, of Toronto, with assault and criminal harassment.

He is scheduled to appear in court later this summer.

The investigation was conducted by the Toronto Police Service’s Hate Crime Unit.