Police lay charges in attempted place of worship break-ins

Police in Waterloo Region laid charges against a man in the attempted break-ins of places of worship in Kitchener and Cambridge.

Officials said in a press release that the accused tried to break into three places of worship between the hours of 4:00 and 5:40 a.m. on March 26.

Two days later, the suspect was arrested by York Regional Police on unrelated charges. He remains in custody.

The 43-year-old from Peel Region was charged with:

• Break and enter (three counts)
• Disguise with intent
• Failure to comply with a release order

This comes as police are trying to gain control over the spate of hate incidents the region has seen as of late.

On March 22, police were notified after hate-filled and violent messages were posted to the website of Hillel Ontario, a Jewish student organization. That led to the arrest of a 17-year-old who charged with uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm.

A report recently presented to the Regional Police Services Board reported a decline in hate-motivated police-reported crimes in 2024, but police chief Mark Crowell said, a year-over-year look shows hate crimes on the rise. 

Crowell said when looking deeper at the numbers, hate-motivated crime based on religion tends to target one faith in particular.

“Locally and across Canada, year-over-year we’re seeing about 70 per cent of religiously targeted hate crimes and motivated incidents target the Jewish population.”