Muslim groups calls for 'action' after London woman spit on in alleged hate crime

London police are investigating after a man threatened to set a woman's house on fire in an incident they are calling hate-motivated.

Just after 8 a.m. on May 29, a man approached an elderly woman outside her residence near the intersection of Marconi Boulevard and Trafalgar Street in the city's east end.

He began yelling at her, threatened to burn down her home and attempted to spit on her, police said, before walking away southbound on Marconi Boulevard.

"The actual nature of the threats made were deemed to be hate-motivated," said Sgt. Sandasha Bough, adding that police will not share specific details until charges are laid.

In a social media post, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) said a Muslim woman was the person targeted in the attack, and was told to "go back to your country" among other hateful comments.

'The [Muslim] community is exhausted from having this conversation and having to repeat ourselves every time an incident like this occurs," said NCCM legal director Nusaiba Al-Azem, who received a report on the incident and has been in touch with the family since Thursday.

"The family's feelings are very similar to the same feelings that I hear from the broader community," she said.

The incident has been passed on to the London police's hate crime unit, who are still investigating.

There were no reported injuries, police said.

It does not appear that the man and woman knew each other previously, Bough said, and there is no immediate threat to the public

"This was a random incident, or so it appears at this time," she said.

Still, members of London's Muslim community say they are uneasy, knowing that this is the latest in several hate-motivated incidents against the Muslim community.

"I think people are concerned and a little frustrated as well," said Selma Tobah, a mentor with the Youth Coalition Combating Islamophobia. "We're seeing that people are willing to put their threats into action."

On Friday, it will be four years since a hate-motivated truck attack killed four members of a Muslim family in London, and Tobah said its impact is still felt by the community.

"June 6 is a time where the broader London community remembers and reflects on what happened to Our London Family, but it really never leaves the forefront of the minds of Muslims in London," Tobah said. "We carry that incident with us in our day-to-day."

"I know folks who don't run outside anymore, people who are careful about where in the city they go for a walk and how they cross the street," she added.

June 11 will mark one year since a possible hate-motivated attack happened at another Muslim family's home in northwest London, where their front porch was set on fire.

"We're talking about the same incident to a Muslim family in the same city at the same time of year," Al-Azem said. "It's hard not to feel like there's a pattern or maybe some kind of issue that is not being addressed.

Both Tobah and Al-Azem said that while there has been more awareness around Islamophobia in London over the past four years, they would still like to see more political will to seriously punish hate-motivated attacks.

"Instead of action, sometimes it feels like we get a lot of performance or we get a lot of words," Al-Azem said.

"The fear is that there's a signal sent when you don't punish crime like this and when you don't bring somebody to justice," she said. "It will embolden others to behave the same way, and I fear that's what's happening in London."

The male suspect in Thursday's incident is still at large, and police are asking for the public's assistance in identifying him. He is described as white, approximately 5'8" with a slim build and believed to be between the ages 27-32. He was last seen wearing a grey ballcap, work boots with red laces, and a yellow and black hoodie with "LOONEY" written across the chest in red.

Anyone with information, or dash-cam, doorbell or security footage of the suspect is asked to call London police at (519) 661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.