Suspect identified in hate-motivated incident outside Calgary library

Calgary police say they have identified the suspect in a hate-motivated incident that took place outside the central library in late April and charges are pending.

On April 28, three women left the library at 800 Third Street SE around 5 p.m. toward the City Hall CTrain station, when they were confronted by a woman yelling obscenities and making aggressive gestures toward a woman in the group.

The victim, who was the target of the woman's verbal attack, ordered her friends to move to a safer location while she asked the suspect to leave them alone.

Instead, the woman continued to follow the victim while continuing to yell at him. She also attempted to burn her face with a lit cigarette, then punch her in the face and throw a travel-style coffee mug at her.

The victim continued walking, eventually reaching a safe space where she called police to report the incident.

“Based on the derogatory remarks used by this woman, it is clear that this incident was motivated by hate,” said Calgary police hate crimes coordinator Const. Matt Messenger, in a press release. “The victim was with a group of friends who were spending their day in our town and now feel scared, humiliated and discriminated against because of who they are. This is unacceptable.”

Late Thursday afternoon, hours after publicizing the suspect's photo on social media, police updated their original statement to the media by announcing that she had been identified.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 403-266-1234. Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.