A man armed with an axe and a spray can attacked worshipers at a mosque in a Toronto suburb on Saturday, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s expressed his “strong” condemnation of the act.
In a statement, local police said the 24-year-old man, who was arrested, entered the mosque in Mississauga, Ontario, eastern Canada, and sprayed worshipers with burning spray.
The worshipers sustained minor injuries from the incendiary spray designed to repel bear attacks.
The police assessed that the attack was an “individual act”, noting at the same time that it could be an “anti-Islam act.”
For his part, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the “deeply disturbing” attack on Twitter, and said, “I strongly condemn this violence that has no place in Canada,” praising the “courage” of those at the mosque.
Several politicians, including the mayor of Toronto and the premier of the province, also condemned the attack on a place of worship.
