London police identify suspect in alleged hate-motivated incident
London police have charged a 34-year-old man after what they describe as a hate-motivated incident that happened last week.
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London police have charged a 34-year-old man after what they describe as a hate-motivated incident that happened last week.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Joseph Howard Coddington, charged with assault and uttering threats after a man threatened to burn down an elderly woman’s house near Marconi Boulevard and Trafalgar Street on the morning of May 29. Police said the man also tried to spit on the woman before walking away.
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Based on “the nature of the comments made,” the incident was deemed hate-motivated, police had said at the time. The woman wasn’t physically injured.
In a social media post on May 31, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) said the victim was Muslim and was told to “go back to your country.”
“This has happened just days before we mark four years since a Muslim family of three generations were murdered in a terrorist attack in London,” the post added.
Police on Tuesday said Coddington’s whereabouts were unknown. They describe him as white, five-foot-eight, 150 pounds, with short brown and blonde hair, scruffy facial hair and brown eyes. They urge anyone who sees him not to approach but to call 911.
Anyone with information or relevant dashcam, doorbell or security footage is asked to contact police at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
London police chief Thai Truong said Saturday that police are committed to working with the Muslim community to address Islamophobia.
“As we prepare to mark the anniversary of the tragedy that took the lives of Our London Family, this recent hate-motivated incident is a troubling reminder that the work to confront anti-Muslim hate is far from over,” he said.
Friday marks four years since four members of the Afzaal family– a Muslim family out for an evening walk – were killed in what police called an Islamophobic terrorist attack.
The case is one of several recent alleged hate crimes in London. Last June, a northwest London home where pro-Palestinian signs had been repeatedly vandalized was set on fire, causing $30,000 in damage. And in November, two employees at a south London Arabic grocery store were sprayed with a noxious substance by a masked man.
