Man accused of attacking Mississauga mosque was not known to congregants, imam says

A man accused of walking into a mosque west of Toronto and attacking people with bear spray early Saturday morning was not known to congregants, according to the imam.

After his arrest by Peel Regional Police, Mohammad Moiz Omar, 24, appeared in a Brampton, Ont., courtroom on Saturday to answer to multiple charges. He's still in custody awaiting a bail hearing scheduled for Tuesday. Police say they believe the attack at the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre in Mississauga, Ont., was "hate-motivated."

"He was not known at all. None of us had seen him when his photo went circulating within our community. Nobody had known him before," said the mosque's imam, Ibrahim Hindy, who did not witness the attack. He spoke to CBC News Monday via Zoom from Saudi Arabia, where he is on a pilgrimage.

"I know he's never been to the mosque because he tried to enter from the wrong door ... in a way that anybody who's been at that mosque knows that that's not the way to enter."

The mosque's administrator, Angie Hindy, describes the attack as "triggering," in light of previous assaults on Muslims in Canada. It occurred less than a year after four members of a Muslim family, who were out for an evening stroll, were run down and killed by a driver in London, Ont., in what police have called an attack motivated by hate. Muslims are among a number of groups targeted amid a rise in hate crimes in this country.

Members at the centre say the attacker also had an axe.

Noorani Sairally, who said he witnessed the assault, told CBC News the assailant also had a bag containing other weapons, including a knife, goggles, ropes and other sharp objects.

Members say it was a young congregant who noticed the axe in the attacker's hand and immediately knocked it to the ground. A number of people then wrestled him to the floor and kept him there until police arrived.

Police say Omar is facing several charges, including:

The imam says his mind immediately went to a "worst-case scenario of people being really seriously hurt or even worse than that, loss of lives" when he started receiving messages on his phone that the mosque had been attacked.

He praised the congregants for their bravery and says he is looking forward to returning home from Saudi Arabia and hugging them.

"There was a 19-year-old kid who was there and he was really a hero and deserves to be commended for his bravery, even though he doesn't want the credits," Hindy said.

The imam says some of the members suffered minor injuries. One person was struck by the axe while others got hit with bear spray, which left a burning sensation for a few days.

The attack has left members "shocked and saddened," said Angie Hindy.