VICTORIA — Criminal charges of robbery and assault have been laid after separate attacks in Victoria, including the beating of an imam, although police say the crimes were random.

Victoria police say they were called late Thursday when the imam of a local mosque reported being assaulted as a man tried to force him out of his vehicle.

The BC Muslim Association and the National Council of Canadian Muslims both released statements after the attack, noting that the suspect went after the victim when he was wearing his traditional garments.

The B.C. association says the suspect directed xenophobic remarks at the victim, telling him to “go back to your home country.”

Police say they arrested a 31-year-old man shortly afterward, then another person called to say they had been attacked and robbed in the same area and had a similar description of the suspect.

Victoria Chief Fiona Wilson says “random attacks like these are deeply unsettling, and can erode the sense of safety that people feel in their own city.”

“We are committed to investigating the motive, and we ask the public to withhold judgment as the matter proceeds before the court,” she says in a statement released Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2026.