(Mississauga) Worshipers at a mosque in Mississauga, Ontario, turned into heroes when they tackled and overpowered an individual who allegedly entered the mosque to spray bear repellent.
Posted at 8:48 p.m.
According to Peel Regional Police, a man entered the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Center shortly before 7 a.m. “and sprayed bear repellent while brandishing an axe.”
Speaking on behalf of the mosque, Nadia Hasan of the National Council of Canadian Muslims said a group of 20 men were then doing morning prayers when the man sprayed them.
Police said worshipers were injured.
Members of the mosque are still trying to understand what happened, a local volunteer who witnessed the attack said on Sunday.
“It’s a scar that will take time to disappear. But at the same time, we are not going to let that deter us from coming to the mosque,” said Noorani Sairally.
When he heard screams shortly after the beginning of the prayer, Mr. Sairally began to think of other attacks on mosques, namely the 2017 shootings in Quebec and those of 2019 in Christchurch, in New Zealand.
But when he turned around, he said, he saw a man with bear spray in one hand and an ax in the other. The individual began to spray the worshipers who were gathered in two rows.
Mr Sairally said a few men in one row were sprayed, while some people in the other row reacted quickly to subdue the individual. Others ran outside because the substance made breathing “unbearable”, he added.
“There was a young devotee who immediately noticed the ax in the hand [de l’homme] and immediately knocked him to the ground. And then that’s when everyone kind of jumped on him to knock him to the ground,” Mr Sairally recalled.
It was very frightening, a scary moment.
Noorani Sairally, witness
Due to the remnants of spray in the air, worshipers had taken the attacker to another prayer area and held him until police arrived, Mr Sairally said.
He alleged the man also had a bag containing “numerous” other weapons, including another axe, knives, sharp objects and bear spray.
Now the mosque is turning its attention to security.
“We want to make sure that we have an internal security system in place to ensure that all families who come with children feel safe and can pray in peace and quiet,” Mr Sairally said. .
‘Incredibly brave’
In a telephone interview, Ibrahim Hindy, imam of the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Center who is currently in Saudi Arabia, called the men who subdued the attacker “incredibly brave and heroic”, saying he was grateful that no one was seriously injured-or worse.
Police announced the arrest of Mohammad Moiz Omar, a 24-year-old man from Mississauga. Several charges were brought against him: assault with a weapon, administration of a noxious substance with intent to endanger the life of a person or to cause bodily harm, threat of death or bodily harm, carrying a concealed weapon and mischief against a religious establishment.
The individual appeared Saturday in Brampton.
Mr Hindy said the mosque had asked the police to increase their presence in the area in the coming days.
The mosque is also considering various ways to strengthen its security to prevent similar incidents from happening again, he said, especially as the holy month of Ramadan approaches two weeks away.
Reactions from elected officials
The attack aroused the indignation of the political class.
“The assault on followers of the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Center is extremely disturbing,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter. I strongly condemn this violence which has no place in Canada, and my heart goes out to the community today. I also applaud the courage of those who were there this morning. »
New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh also reacted on Twitter.
“Love and solidarity to Muslims in Canada,” he wrote.
“As we learn the chilling tale of another mosque and its worshipers who fell victim to a violent attack, know that you are not alone. »
The incident comes less than a year after four members of a Muslim family, who were out for an evening stroll, were run over and killed by a vehicle in London, Ont., in what police say was an attack motivated by hate.
This article was produced with the financial support of the Facebook and The Canadian Press News Fellowships.