Arrest warrant out after suspect in attack on Muslim women no show in Edmonton court

EDMONTON – A judge has issued an arrest warrant for a man who failed to appear in court Wednesday on charges related to an attack on two Muslim women in an Edmonton parking lot.

Richard Bradley Stevens was charged with two counts of assault and one of mischief after a Somali mother and daughter wearing hijabs were chased and accosted in 2020.

The women told police they were sitting in a car in the Southgate Mall parking lot in December when a man came up to the passenger side and began yelling at them.

They said the man shattered a car window, then knocked one of them to the ground and started assaulting her.

The second woman tried to help but was also shoved to the ground.

The women said the man was swearing at them and telling them to go back to their country before witnesses intervened and stopped the assault.

The warrant is unendorsed, which means Stevens will be kept in custody after his arrest.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2021.