Halifax police investigate hate-motivated assault on a city bus

A Halifax Regional Police emblem is seen in Halifax on July 2, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan)

Halifax Regional Police is seeking information or video that will help their investigation of a hate-motivated assault that police say occurred on a city bus Thursday morning.

Police said in a statement Friday afternoon that the alleged assault took place around 10:40 a.m. on Halifax Transit route 90 when a man boarded the busy near 150 Bedford Highway and began to say racial slurs at two women aboard the bus.

The man then threated and assaulted one of the women before exiting the bus in downtown Halifax and leaving the area on foot, police said.

Police describe the man as white, 5-feet tall and bald. He was reported wearing a t-shirt, jeans, jacket, black-framed glasses and had a cane.

“We recognize that incidents of this nature can be very harmful to our community,” Halifax Cst. John MacLeod said in a statement.

“We take incidents that are believed to be motivated by hate towards an identifiable group very seriously. If someone finds themselves exposed to behavior that is offensive, threatening or intimidating, we encourage them to report it to police to investigate so we can determine if criminal offences have occurred.”

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