Kitchener woman fears for her safety after alleged hate-motivated incident

Concern in Kitchener’s Muslim community Two women say a driver pointed a gun at them as they were heading home from mosque. As Krista Simpson reports, WRPS is investigating.

Members of Kitchener's Muslim community are raising concerns after someone allegedly pointed a gun at two women as they were heading home from the masjid Wednesday morning.

The women said a stranger followed them, convinced them to pull over and then pointed a gun at them.

The Waterloo Regional Police Service is investigating the alleged incident, including the possible motivations behind it.

CTV News Kitchener spoke to a woman who said she and her mother were the victims in this incident. The woman asked not to be publically identified as she fears for her safety.

She said while she and her mother were not physically hurt, the incident left them shaken.

The Kitchener woman said the incident happened around 4.a.m. as the pair were leaving the masjid, after early morning prayers during Ramadan.

“We were driving down and suddenly you hear, just a honking at us, and there's a car speeding right towards us,” she told CTV News.

She said the incident happened at Franklin Street North and Ottawa Street North.

The driver then did a U-turn, she said, and pulled up beside the women, trying to get them to stop their vehicle.

“So we stop the car and I'm thinking maybe the trunk is open, the gas cap is loose,” the woman said. “We roll down the window, he rolls down his, then we just see him pull out his phone and point it at us and we're like, okay that's weird. And suddenly, in the other hand, he pulls up a gun and points it at us.”

She claims he had his gun nearby and that it wasn't in a glove compartment.

“He was videotaping us - so he seemed prepared to be doing something,” she said.

The man didn't say anything and the women sped off, but he continued to follow them a little longer before turning onto another street.

Police said their general investigations and equity, diversity and inclusion units are working together to investigate the incident.

According to police, the suspect is described as a white man, around 20-years-old and with a thin build. He was wearing a large dark hoodie with a face mask, and was driving a dark-coloured four-door sedan.

The woman said they weren’t near the masjid when the incident happened but feels the incident was hate-motivated.

She wants to warn other members of the Muslim community to be vigilant.

“Be wary of everybody and please be careful of people pulling you over or anything like that,” she said.

The acting manager at the Kitchener masjid said he’s concerned after hearing about the alleged incident.

“We will do whatever we can to ensure the place is safe, but we will not be intimidated by this,” said Mohamed Bendame.

He’s also brought in extra security in light of the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Waterloo regional police or Crime Stoppers.