Police say throwdown at Canada's Wonderland wasn't hate crime related
No charges will be laid in connection to a high-profile physical altercation between two groups of people at Canada's Wonderland late last month, according to York Regional Police.
Shocking video footage of the incident in question was published via Twitter a few weeks ago, along with text details deemed "extremely troubling" by the National Council of Canadian Muslims.
Police confirmed last Sunday that an assault had taken place within the popular Vaughan, Ont., amusement park on June 27. Several alleged first-hand accounts of the incident described a violent, hate-motivated attack upon a group of Muslim women.
apparently the wonderland security guards told them the cameras supposedly did not catch anything. however someone was able to catch some of the altercation on a video(s). pic.twitter.com/Bpwcl5kFm8
— King Fefe (@faathiaa) June 29, 2019
Conflicting reports from others who said they were present at the time indicated that the attack was not racially-motivated.
Rather, a woman named Brandy Lynn who was involved in the fight said things got nasty after someone cut in front of her 4-year-old son in line.
All parties involved on both sides were removed from the park following the altercation.
"We take every allegation of hate seriously and can assure our community it is being investigated thoroughly," wrote York Regional Police on Twitter in response to one woman's viral retelling of the account last week.
That investigation is now complete.
Last week, NCCM & several community organizations met with senior officials from York Regional Police to discuss the incident at Canada's Wonderland. We were assured that the @YRP takes hate crimes and hate incidents extremely seriously, and has been diligently investigating. pic.twitter.com/y9jQL0PFx6
— NCCM (@nccm) July 10, 2019
"After a thorough investigation into the incident at Wonderland on June 27 and reviewing all the facts, video and witness accounts, we have determined this was not a hate-motivated incident and no charges will be laid," announced the police department on Wednesday.
"We stand with community partners in safeguarding all our communities."
The National Canadian Council of Muslims, members of which met with senior officials from York Regional Police last week to discuss the Wonderland incident, is satisfied by the result.
"We trust YRP has conducted a fair and thorough investigation and will continue to do so for any future incidents," the organization tweeted on Thursday.
"We will monitor developments in the investigation closely. We encourage anyone who has faced a hate incident to report it to law enforcement and NCCM."
Join the conversation Load comments