Toronto police have released the image of a man arrested in a hate-motivated assault investigation because investigators believe there may be additional victims.
On Saturday, August 29, officers were called to a report of a person with a knife in the area of Queens Quay West and Lower Spadina Avenue. Police allege the suspect approached two people during an unprovoked interaction, made anti-Sikh utterances and racial slurs, and attacked the victims with a weapon. One victim was stabbed in the leg and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Through the investigation, police say they determined the same man had been involved in a separate incident roughly an hour earlier in the Union Station area. In that case, police allege he approached a person during an unprovoked interaction, made anti-Sikh utterances and racial slurs, and brandished a knife, waving it at the victim while repeating the slurs. That victim was not injured.
On Tuesday, September 1, Lakshitha Arakmullage, 32, of Toronto was arrested and charged with offence motivated by hatred (assault causing bodily harm), five counts of offence motivated by hatred (assault with a weapon), two counts of carrying a concealed weapon, and two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
He was scheduled to appear at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre on Friday, September 4. None of the allegations has been proven in court.
The file is being handled by the Toronto Police Service Hate Crime Unit, which leads investigations where a criminal offence is believed to have been motivated by bias, prejudice or hate. On conviction, a judge takes hate into account as an aggravating factor at sentencing. Separate hate propaganda offences, including wilful promotion of hatred, require the Attorney General’s consent before charges can be laid.
Police are asking anyone who believes they may have been a victim, or who has information about the investigation, to contact 416-808-3505.
Source: Toronto Police Service news release, September 4, 2026.
