Ottawa police add attempted murder charge after attacks on victims of Asian descent

Article content

The Ottawa Police Service’s hate and bias crime unit has charged Kevin Belisle with an additional charge of attempted murder, along with three charges of assault causing bodily harm, in relation to attacks in the Centretown and Chinatown neighbourhoods on Nov. 17.

Article content

Belisle, a 32-year-old from Ottawa, was originally charged with two counts of assault, one count of aggravated assault and mischief, but an additional victim has since come forward, police said Tuesday.

Article content

Belisle was scheduled to appear in court on the additional charges on Nov. 27.

The OPS is asking anyone with additional information about the incidents to contact the hate and bias crime unit at 613-236-1222, extension 5105.

“We continue to encourage anyone who witnesses or experiences such incidents to report them to police,” OPS said in a statement. “Reporting hate-motivated incidents is an important step in stopping cycles of hatred.”

On Nov. 17, between 8:45 p.m. and 10:15 p.m., police responded to three calls for service for assaults on Laurier Avenue West, Bronson Avenue and Bank Street.

Police said the Central Division Criminal Investigations Section was involved because all of the assaults “were believed to be hate-related since all three victims were of Asian descent and the suspect description for each assault was similar.”

Police confirmed that the additional victim who came forward was also of Asian descent.

Our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark our homepage and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed.

Recommended from Editorial

  1. An Ottawa police cruiser in a file photo.

    Three charged after separate ‘hate-motivated’ incidents, including one on LRT train

  2. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside Ottawa Police headquarters on Elgin Street on Monday, Nov. 18. Earlier that evening, four protesters were arrested for allegedly blocking a downtown street.

    A fifth person charged following downtown pro-Palestinian protest on Nov. 18

Share this article in your social network

Source