Toronto police are asking witnesses to come forward after a group became involved in an altercation with a male who was reportedly shouting derogatory terms at people on the corner of Church and Wellesley streets on Tuesday night.
The incident occurred on the northwest corner of the busy intersection at around 5 p.m.
Speaking to CP24 on Wednesday morning, police said that they were called to the area on Tuesday night after a group surrounded a male who was shouting offensive terms at people in the neighbourhood.
An altercation ensued, police said, and two people were injured. One injured person refused treatment and the other was taken to hospital with unknown injuries, police confirmed.
Jaymie Sampa, a staff member at The 519 who witnessed the situation as it was unfolding, told CP24 that two people with a microphone and an amplifier stood on the corner to preach “hatred” about members of the LGBTQ community.
“One was wearing a body camera and the other was acting as a camera person and under the guise of faith, (they) began to preach using amplified sound about just hatred about queer, trans, and two-spirit people,” she said.
“I came upon a very quickly growing and escalating incident where in which I think because our community is already feeling very threatened in terms of their sense of safety… there were a lot of responses kind of that were increasing the escalating violence.”
Police said the incident is still under investigation and officers have stepped up patrols in the area in the wake of the disturbance.
It is not clear if any charges will be laid.
Const. Jen Sidhu said officers have been “in discussions with community partners all day,” regarding the incident.
Investigators are asking witnesses to contact 51 Division and videos and photos of the incident can be uploaded online.
