Screaming racist woman wanted in alleged TTC subway hate crime investigation

Toronto Police are looking for a woman alleged to have yelled racial slurs and assaulted a victim at the TTC's Lawrence subway station last month.

Police have asked for the public's assistance in identifying a woman wanted in what is being described as a suspected hate-motivated assault investigation.

It is alleged that on Tuesday, May 16, at approximately 2:30 a.m., police attended Lawrence subway station responding to an assault call.

It is reported that the woman was asked to leave the TTC station, but refused to do so, resulting in TTC staff being called and attempting to attend to the situation. The suspect is alleged to have yelled racial slurs and assaulted a victim, but had left the scene by the time police arrived.

The suspect is described as approximately 30 years old, with brown hair and a medium build, and was seen at the time of the assault wearing a black coat, red shirt, light-coloured pants, and dark shoes. Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to contact police, or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

The assault investigation was upgraded to a suspected hate-motivated offence after consultation with the police's Hate Crime Unit, which occurs when a criminal offence is believed to have been motivated by bias, prejudice or hate.

In these cases, the office in charge of the investigation will consult with the Crown. If a person is charged and convicted for a suspected hate-motivated offence, hate will be taken into consideration as an aggravating factor during sentencing.

While not necessarily applicable to this incident, cases deemed hate propaganda, like the wilful promotion of hatred and advocating genocide, are treated to an even higher level of scrutiny. Charges in such cases are often laid at a later date when applicable and require consent from the Attorney General.