Police in Montreal, Quebec are investigating two assaults against Hasidic Jews that occurred within the same hour in January in the same area of the city.
The Montreal police hate crimes unit is appealing to the public for help in identifying a young man who is the suspect in both assaults, the Montreal Gazette reported.
The attacks took place on the evening of January 20. The first attack was captured by a security camera, according to police.
In that incident in the city’s Outremont neighborhood, the suspect, who is believed to be around 18-years-old, is seen walking down a sidewalk when he spots the first victim on the side of the street. He accosts the Hasidic man and pushes him into the road where he falls to the ground near where a car had driven by only seconds earlier.
“On Jan. 20, around 9:50 p.m., at the corner of Van Horne and Bloomfield Aves., the first victim (a member of) the Hasidic community, was walking west on Van Horne Ave. when the suspect allegedly shouted at him. (The suspect) then assaulted him by pushing him violently and throwing him to the ground. The individual fled and joined a group of individuals of the same age, heading eastbound on Van Horne Ave.,” the Montreal police said in a statement on Wednesday.
“A second event occurred around 10:25 p.m., at the corner of Bernard and Outremont Aves,
police added. "A second victim, also a member of the Hasidic community, was also allegedly assaulted by the suspect. The victim allegedly received a violent kick in the lower back, which caused him to fall to the ground. This time, the individual reportedly fled north on Wiseman Ave., and again joined a group (waiting nearby).”
Montreal police said they have released images of the suspect, even though he is a minor, in order to ask the public to help identify him, according to the Canadian Press.