Last Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau jumped on the bandwagon and condemned a purported attack in Toronto in which an 11-year-old Muslim girl was reportedly attacked by a man repeatedly trying to cut her hijab with scissors.
Trudeau joined Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, Toronto Mayor John Tory, and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne in condemning the attack. Only hours after the alleged attack was reported, he tweeted:
Guess what? The attack never happened, according to Toronto police.
Officers had stated that the girl, Khawlah Noman, was walking to Pauline Johnson Public School in Scarborough last Friday when she felt something. Turning around, she reported that she saw a man trying to cut her hijab, prompting her to scream and him to flee, but less than 10 minutes later he allegedly returned and attempted to cut her hijab again.
School staff reported the incident to police around 9:15 a.m., prompting police to look for an Asian man of medium build, around 5’8-6’0 tall, with black hair, a moustache and glasses, and wearing a black hoodie and pants.
The girl later appeared at a press conference on Friday, asserting that she had felt “confused, scared and terrified” from the supposed attack and was fearful of walking to school. She added, “I’m actually really scared, but I have family to support me. This is terrible and I do not like it. I feel like this should stop.” She also stated, “What you’re doing is really wrong, you should not act like this, and especially, I’m a kid.”
But on Monday, police released this statement: “After a detailed investigation, police have determined that the events described in the original news release did not happen.”