Local pizzeria vandalized with racist graffiti

The owners of a pizzeria on St. Laurent Boulevard wereleft stunned after it was vandalizedlate Saturday night.

George AbouFaissal, who ownsMilano Pizzeria with his brother, said that when he arrived at 6 a.m. on Sundayto prepare for the breakfast rush, a mess of glassawaited him.

"Usually, I come in first thing in the morning, as early as possible, so I can prep and get readyto open," he said. "SoI come around and throw open the door, and I see the window issmashed and glass iseverywhere."

The building was vandalizedwith swastikas, the N-word and Ku Klux Klanwhite supremacistsymbolsspray-painted along the outside wall and surrounding pavement. The restaurant'salarm did not go off because the sensor was damaged in the attackAbou Faissalsaid.

WATCH | Owner says he doesn't know why they were targeted

Owner of vandalized Ottawa pizzeria says he doesnt know why they were targeted

2 months ago

Duration 0:48

George Abou Faissal, who owns Milano Pizzeria on St. Laurent Boulevard, says he arrived at work Sunday morning to find swastikas spray-painted along the outside of the building and the restaurants front window smashed.

He said he has never experiencedan incident like this in the pizzeria's 27-year history and he was surprised by the racistmessages.

"I still don't understand. I'm still in shock. I never thought that could happen to us," he said. "We're good people."

Abou Faissal, who is Christian,said he believes the attack was random and didn't target him or his family specifically.

Police saidtheir hate and bias crime unit isinvestigating a "mischief incident that occurred."The investigation is in the early stages, police told CBC in an email.

Community quick to help

Community members were quick to jump into action once word spread of the incident.

AbouFaissal said he was brought almost to tears when friends and frequent customers began showing up with supplies to help.

The messages were quickly painted over and scrubbed off the pavement. The broken window was also boarded up. Abou Faissal said he hopes they can start more permanent repairs soon.

"I'm very glad that I'm in this community because they show a lot of support and I'm very thankful for everybody," he said.

The pizzeria remained very busy on Monday as customers flockedto the restaurant to show support or leave donations.

"We just heard about it this morning. So the only thing that we could do is come here and ... have a meal," said Jeff Schneider, who oftenvisits the restaurant with friends.

"I was really, really surprised that that sort of thing would happen in our area here," he said.

Many told CBC the restaurant and its ownersare important fixturesin the community.

"I feel really sorry for the owners. I know both [of]them well and they're good people, hard-working people,and it's unfortunate," said Bruce Anderson, a friend of the owners and frequent customer.

'Antisemitism is not welcome'

Alta Vista councillor Marty Carr, who has been a customer at Milano, said that while it was "disheartening" to see suchhatred, she's glad people could lend a hand.

"We are a diverse community and acts of hatred are not welcome here," she said.

"What we've seen at Milano Pizzeria in the community is important. People are coming together and supporting one another and and letting it be known antisemitism is not welcome here."

AbouFaissalsaid he would like to explain to whoever caused the damage that antisemitism is harmful.

"We pray for them. Maybe God will give them some wisdom," he said.