TORONTO—Four teenage boys, all students at yeshivas Lubavitch, were assaulted by between 10 and 12 youths, as they were walking home on Sunday evening in Toronto, the Canadian Jewish News reported.
The incident is being investigated as a hate crime, because of the verbal slurs that were used during the assault, and as a robbery, said Toronto Police.
Police have one youth in custody and are still searching for the others.
The four 17-year-olds were walking home in a traditionally Jewish neighborhood when a larger group of young people saw their kippot, started making “derogatory comments” and began punching and kicking two of the boys, according to police. A pair of sunglasses was stolen from one of the victims.
According to Rabbi Akiva Wagner, the principal of the yeshiva attended by the boys, the four students did not remain passive in the face of the attack.
“The boys were capable of looking out for themselves, it is the only reason they avoided something more serious,” he said.
One of the assailants, a 17-year-old boy, was arrested by police. They are still searching for the others.
Toronto Mayor John Tory, along with several Canadian politicians and community leaders, took to social media en masse to condemn the attack, urging the public to assist the police with their investigation.