Toronto Police Arrest Two 21 Year Old Males After Alleged Hate Crime Attack In City’s Gay Village

Toronto police are investigating what they classified as a hate crime after 30 year old Ryan Lester was kicked in the face and called “faggot” while getting a post-bar snack at Mehran Restaurant on Church Street in the early hours of Saturday, January 22nd, reports the Star. His 24 year old brother, Ben, suffered deep bruises on his back and a broken molar. The attack arrives after reports of students from Jarvis Collegiate High School, which sits along the border of the city’s Gay Village, had been randomly hurling anti-gay slurs accompanied by slushies at residents of the community. 21 year old Eoin McManus and 21 year old Benjamin McCall, both of Toronto, have each been charged with two counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief after breaking the front window of Mehran. Toronto Police Detective Chu Chang categorized the attack as a hate crime, saying “There were homophobic slurs and other derogatory comments being made. The victims did not provoke them in any way and all of sudden they were assaulted. He added that it is the first time in his year and a half at 51 Division, he has classified a case as a hate crime. Lester says the taunts began as soon as he and his brother entered the restaurant. “I think they thought we were together and they started in with the usual homophobic slurs. It was definitely ‘faggot’ and ‘queer’ and ‘homo.’ They were laughing to themselves,” he says. Kristyn Wong-Tam, councillor of Ward 27, says that the attacks are alarming. “It could be perhaps coincidental ... but we should never take any of this lightly,” she says. She is encouraging victims to “speak up and report incidents when they take place” so that if there is an obvious problem the community can address it. “Is (the Gay Village) a safe and welcoming place? Absolutely. Do we have a rampant problem or hate crime? I don’t think so,” she said, adding “It doesn’t mean that we don’t have isolated incidents ... we can’t help unless we know.” Ryan Lester completely agrees, saying he used to ignore homophobic taunts but that since he was attacked, he has heard of other disturbing homophobic incidents. “People have told me things I can’t even believe that have happened to them in the village – that I think they just ignore too as, almost, common play.”