Man arrested in connection with Owen Sound mosque vandalism

Owen Sound police have arrested a 22-year-old man after a local mosque was vandalized twice over two days last week.

On Friday and Saturday, mosque leaders arrived to find eggs and other food thrown at the Owen Sound Muslim Association the city's only mosque.

Police arrested the man on Monday afternoon after finding evidence at the mosque that pointed them in the suspect's direction, acting Det-Sgt. Craig Matheson of the Owen Sound police told CBC News.

"The investigation flowed from there," said Matheson.

The man, who is from Owen Sound, was charged with two counts of mischief to religious property and one count of mischief to general property.

He was scheduled to appearin court on Tuesday for a bail hearing.

Community rallies

The back-to-back vandalism left the mosque's congregation deeply shaken.

"We were scared. After the second day... we saw our congregation numbers dwindle," Muslim Association spokesperson Waleed Aslamsaid Tuesday in an interview on CBC Radio's Ontario Morning.

Aslam described the heartbreaking moment of trying to explain the incidentsto his young son, and the process of fielding difficult questions from congregation members.

"We had [people] come up and ask us point blank: 'What if another Christchurch, New Zealand happens? What if another Quebec City-type shooting happens?' And we had no answers for them," he said.

A steady source of hope, however, has been the solidarity of the larger Owen Sound community and of police, said Aslam.

On Saturday, after the second incidentof vandalism, about 70 people spontaneously gathered to form a ring of protection around the mosque during Saturday prayers.

"We're still rattled. But we're moved and we're humbled by the support that we've received," he said.

'Hate-motivated' stickers still unexplained

The vandalism, which began inthe early hours of Friday morning, came shortly after another disturbing overnight incident.

Police say that stickers were posted around the city that they believe are associated with the neo-Nazi movement, describing the act in a press release as "hate-motivated."

Matheson told CBC News that the investigation into the stickers continues, and that policehave recovered some evidence.

He added that investigators have yet to determine if the vandalism and the stickers are connected.

"We can't rule it out at this point," he said.

Matheson said that in 18 years on Owen Sound's police force, he's never seen these kinds of crimes in the community.

Aslam was equally shocked, explaining that the mosque has been a mainstay at different locations in the community for several decades.

He told Ontario Morning that on Saturday, someone had asked him what they can do to help, and that his answer was simple.

"Combat hate everywhere you see it, whenever you see it," he said.