Man attacks worshippers in Canadian mosque with bear spray

• Worshippers receive minor injuries.
• “Investigators are considering hate as a possible motive,” say police.
• Trudeau calls incident “incredibly disturbing”.

Worshippers at a Canadian mosque restrained and tackled a man who allegedly attacked them with a bear spray during dawn prayers, later handing him over to the police.

The regional police said the man walked inside the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre at 7am on Saturday and allegedly “discharged bear spray towards people in the mosque while brandishing a hatchet,” according to Al Jazeera.

The worshippers received minor injuries as a result of the attack, said the police. 

Nadia Hasan — Chief Operating Officer at National Council of Canadian Muslims — said that a group of 20 men were worshipping when the 24-year-old suspect decided to spray them.

“Some of the men turned around and they very bravely decided that they were not going to let him attack them,” she said, adding that “the worshippers tackled him to the ground and apprehended him until the police showed up.”

The 24-year-old man, who is a local resident, has been arrested. The police said they are considering “all possible motivations” that led to the incident, adding that the “charges are pending.”

“At this point, the investigators are considering hate as a possible motive,” added the police.

Following the incident, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter to condemn the incident, calling it “incredibly disturbing”.

“I strongly condemn this violence – which has no place in Canada – and I’m keeping the community in my thoughts today,” wrote Trudeau.

He went on to “applaud the courage” of the people who were present at the time of the attack.