A 26-year-old man faces several charges in connection with an attack on a Jewish employee at a Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) store in Toronto’s west end.

Toronto police have told The Canadian Jewish News that on the evening of July 28th, a man entered an LCBO liquor store in area of Bloor Street West and Dundas Street.

Once inside, he allegedly assaulted staff both physically and verbally, and made antisemitic comments, police said.

The incident is being investigated as hate-motivated. According to B’nai Brith Canada, the victim is Jewish and elderly.

On Aug. 18th police arrested Myles Robert Newton, 26. He is charged with two counts of assault, two counts of assault with a weapon, mischief under $5,000, disobeying a lawful court order and assault with intent to resist arrest. Newton is next scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 30th.

If a person is charged and convicted of the offence, the judge will take into consideration hate as an aggravating factor when imposing a sentence, police pointed out.

“In the wake of July’s National Summit on Antisemitism, it is imperative that all levels of government and law enforcement take action and work with the Jewish community to stem this flow of violence and hate,” B’nai Brith Canada CEO Michael Mostyn said in a news release.