Peel Police confirmed that they have identified the man who was seen in a youtube video, but has not yet been able to locate him. They are urging him to seek legal representation and reach out to police according to 680 News.
Peel Police told 680 News that the incident is currently under investigation, and said police want to speak with the man before laying any potential charges.
A Youtube video went viral that shows a man who refused to wear a mask in a Mississauga grocery store, claiming he suffers from asthma and unleashed a racist tirade at store employees. The man is heard telling the employees to “go back to China” in an incident that was captured on video.
The video was posted to YouTube on Tuesday and over 341K views. T&T Supermarket in Mississauga confirmed that the confrontation took place at its store at 715 Central Parkway West in Mississauga on July 5.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh took to Twitter and wrote, “We have a collective responsibility to deny any space to this type of hateful, divisive and racist speech And let’s be clear, the consensus of healthcare experts is that wearing a mask helps prevent the spread of #COVID19 Wear a mask and don’t be racist“
In the video, the man can be heard uttering racist comments, “Where did we get our Wuhan communist virus? From China. From you guys,” as well as unproven comments such as “When you wear the mask, you get sick, it’s science.”
In the meantime, a concerned community member decided to start a GoFundMe campaign to thank the essential workers, and states, “I am starting this fundraiser to raise tips for the store employees as a thank you for their hard work through this pandemic, trying to keep everyone safe”. Almost 3,000 dollars have been raised so far.
In a statement, T&T CEO Tina Lee said the man was combative with store staff and other customers before the video began.
“The customer was arguing with another customer and store colleagues for several minutes prior to the video footage. When politely asked to wear a mask, which is store policy, the man initially refused because he said it was ineffective. He then became irate and aggressive, claiming to have allergies and then proceeded to claim he and his friend both had asthma.”
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie commented on the incident, and tweeted, “Racist, hurtful and divisive comments like these have no place in our City. They’re appalling. We’ve gotten to where we are today by working together and listening to public health. Let’s keep it up and continue to fight this as team Mississauga.”
MP for Mississauga Centre, Omar Alghabra tweeted, “The last few days there were reports of 2 offensive incidents in Mississauga. There were Anti-Semitic chants at a rally and another report of Anti-Asian insults. We need to be unequivocal in rejecting all hateful and stereotyping remarks.”
