Durham police have shut down misleading claims that a recent violent swarming at a Pizza Pizza in Oshawa was a hate crime, despite widespread attempts by left-wing politicians and the legacy media to frame it as one.
Investigators have arrested and charged two more individuals in connection with the incident.
The Durham Regional Police Service confirmed on Friday that “there is no evidence to indicate that hate was an aggravating factor in this assault.” This directly contradicts the narrative pushed by legacy media outlets, Liberal and NDP politicians and Islamic activists.
As previously reported by True North, the violent swarming incident at a Pizza Pizza in Oshawa received significant public attention after a piece of security camera footage of the attack went viral.
The security camera video footage that circulated on Facebook showed one attacker grabbing onto the owner’s hijab and another attacker holding the owner’s head still while striking her.
That detail sparked an immediate outcry with accusations of anti-Muslim hate spreading rapidly across social media and being echoed in headlines.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims, for example, posted an exhaustive condemnation of the alleged “Islamophobic” incident and held a press conference in Oshawa alongside the daughter of the victim, who received significant media attention.
“Islamophobic attacks have spiked across the country in the past two years. Our leaders must take action to address this wave of hate,” the NCCM continued.
Numerous politicians also chimed in.
Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie was also quick to mislabel the incident an “Islamophobic attack” on X.
“I’m horrified by the violent, Islamophobic attack on a Muslim woman in Oshawa today,” Crombie said. “We must condemn Islamophobia and all acts of hate in the strongest terms. We will never stop fighting for the peace and safety all Ontarians deserve.”
The Liberal culture minister Steven Guilbeault similarly took to X to proclaim “all Canadians deserve to feel safe in their communities” in direct response to the incident.
“I strongly condemn this assault towards a Muslim woman,” Guilbeault added.
Guilbeault’s comments came despite the Liberal Party’s general radio silence on the issue of crime since narrowly eking out a minority victory in the 2025 federal election, including the decision to adjourn a Standing Committee on crime and bail reform for the summer months.
False, misleading, or confused claims of “Islamophobia” are nothing new to the Canadian political or media sphere. Take, as an example, the 2018 case of an 11-year-old Toronto girl who made headlines when she falsely claimed that a scissors-wielding stranger had cut her hijab.
On Friday, police announced their two newest arrests concerning the incident and provided an update on the charges laid in the case, with no charges indicating this was a hate crime or ideologically motivated attack.
Thus far, a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old female have been charged with assault causing bodily harm.
Another 13-year-old male has been identified and is wanted for assault causing bodily harm, obstructing police and failure to comply with a release order.
Police said efforts are ongoing to identify a fourth individual involved.
A fifth suspect, an 11-year-old male, meanwhile, has been identified, but police said he can’t be charged due to his age.