Montreal police say they have arrested a suspect in connection with an assault on a father who was with his three children in a park last week.
A video posted on X showed part of the altercation as a man repeatedly punches another man with children standing nearby in Dickie Moore Park, in the city’s Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough, on Friday afternoon. In the short video, the suspect then appears to throw the victim’s kippa to the ground before leaving.
According to police, the victim, a 32-year-old man, went to the park with his kids and was approached by a suspect who sprayed him with the contents of his water bottle. Police added that victim then attempted to approach the suspect, who then pushed the man to the ground “and punched him several times in the face and kicked him.”
The suspect fled on foot at around 2:26 p.m. on Beaumont Avenue before officers arrived on scene.
Montreal police said the 24-year-old suspect was arrested Monday by the North Regional Investigation Section and is being questioned by investigators. No charges have yet been laid.
The attack on the victim, an Orthodox Jewish man, was widely condemned by Montreal’s Jewish community.
According to Mayer Feig, a spokesperson for Montreal’s Hasidic community, the person who recorded the video was Muslim woman, who shared the recording with the victim.
“She would like to remain anonymous but the victim wants to relay his appreciation for her sharing the video so [it] could have been shared and ultimately apprehend the suspect, who committed this horrible crime,” Feig told CTV News.
“I think as a community we should appreciate that, you know what, we might have differences, when something happened it was recorded and was able to be shared with the world, so we can see what happened.”
Jean-Pierre Brabant, a spokesperson for the SPVM, said the assault has not been classified as a hate crime and the hate crime unit is not leading the investigation, which is still ongoing.
“The SPVM spared no effort in locating the suspect and is continuing its investigation to shed light on the circumstances surrounding this criminal act,” the police force said in a news release. “The SPVM would like to thank the citizens who contributed to this outcome by providing information that helped locate the suspect.”
Police say the victim was hospitalized for injuries that were not life-threatening.
Several political leaders also condemned the assault, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, who called it “an appalling act of violence.”
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante and Quebec Premier François Legault also expressed their sympathies with the victim.
On Monday, Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, also reacted to the attack, saying in a post on X that he is “concerned about the rise of antisemitism against the Jewish community in Canada.”
He called on the Canadian government to not tolerate antisemitism, adding that he has extended an invitation to the father and his family to visit Israel.
