Man wanted in alleged hate-motivated assault after woman punched during demonstration last month

Police have released an image of a suspect wanted in an alleged hate-motivated assault during a demonstration in downtown Toronto last month.

Investigators say a suspect approached a woman on a sidewalk observing a demonstration in the area of University Avenue and College Street on October 29. She was holding a Canadian flag and a poster of an Israeli hostage when a man, along with four or five other males, surrounded and began yelling at her.

Police say the man punched the woman, then ripped her poster and stomped on her flag before fleeing the scene.

The man is described as between 40 to 60 years old and five feet nine inches tall. He was last seen wearing a black coat, a blue baseball hat and a blue medical mask.

Police say the incident is being investigated as a hate-motivated offence, meaning if the person is charged and convicted the judge will “take into consideration hate as an aggravating factor when imposing a sentence.”