Montreal police investigate hate crime outside Verdun Islamic Centre

Imitation of a 'severed, blood-covered human hand,' left at door says Canadian Muslim Forum

Montreal police are investigating a hate crime after someone discovered a ghastly package left outside an Islamic centre in the city's Verdun borough on Sunday.

The Canadian Muslim Forum said in a press release on Monday that the object was "an artificial imitation" of a "severed, blood-covered human hand."

Police wrote in an email that someone called 911 at about 2:30 p.m. to report that one or more suspects had allegedly left a plastic bag containing an object covered in a red substance at the entrance of the Islamic Centre of Verdun on Verdun Street near 1st Avenue. Police said the substance was being analyzed.

The centre serves as both a mosque and community hub, hosting daily prayers as well as religious, educational and community activities.

Officers met with the centre's director before the case was forwarded to the police's hate crimes and incidents unit, which planned to review surveillance camera footage from the area.

No arrests had been made as of Tuesday, and the investigation remained ongoing.

The Canadian Muslim Forum said the incident occurred during a weekend gathering attended by "families, children, women, and worshippers." It said, "children were frightened, families were shaken, and a place of worship and community gathering was turned into a scene of anxiety and intimidation."

The forum said it "unequivocally condemns this act, which bears all the hallmarks of Islamophobic intimidation," while adding it trusted police to thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident, "including any hate-motivated elements."

"This incident does not occur in a vacuum," the organization said, arguing it came amid "a troubling rise in Islamophobia, online hate, and divisive rhetoric that increasingly targets Canadians of Muslim faith."

Statistics Canada said in March that hate crimes reported to police in Canada increased from 1,817 in 2018 to 4,882 in 2024.

Incidents involving Islamophobia in Canada nearly tripled, growing from 84 reported crimes to 229, over the same period.

The forum also called on elected officials at the municipal, provincial and federal levels to respond "with clear words and concrete actions to confront Islamophobia and hate."

Charlotte Glorieux writes for The Canadian Press