Man charged with assault after alleged homophobic attack on a man for having a rainbow sticker on car in a McDonald’s drive-through
Umair Ahmed Qurashi was charged by York Police this week after allegedly hurling homophonic abuse at a gay man. (Screen capture via Facebook)
A man was charged after allegedly yelling homophobic comments before punching a queer man outside a McDonalds’s drive-through in Canada earlier this month.
York Police charged Umair Ahmed Qurashi, 33, with assault and mischief after he physically assaulted Jacob Gal.
The attack left the victim with a “bloody but not broken” nose, he claimed in a Facebook post.
What happened?
In the lengthy status, Gal claimed that Qurashi “pulled up next to my car and I rolled my window down” in a parking lot.
He then proceeded to jeer at Gal, calling him “f****t Boy!” and “go to Hell!” because the victim had a Pride flag sticker on his car, he claimed.
The attacker than drove off and pulled into McDonald’s drive-through.
Outside the fast-food outlet window, Gal, program director at York’s Gay Straight Alliance, beelined towards Qurashi sat in his car.
“So this guy likes to shout out f****t to me, so why don’t you say it to the camera?” Gal shouted, according to mobile phone footage.
Taking off his glasses, Qurashi flings the car door open and attempts to lunge towards the victim, knocking his mobile out of his hand.
“He started moving faster towards me,” Gal continued in the account.
“I told him not to touch me multiple times but he then slammed my phone to the ground, breaking the screen, and began to punch me, twice, in the face when I then began bleeding all over my clothes and face.”
Victim was punched in the face, leaving him with a ‘bloody but not broken nose’.
Officers arrived at the scene to find Gal had suffered minor injuries, True North reported, before arresting the attacker in his home.
Gal added: “I’ve been to South Lake hospital for a check up and x-rays. My nose was just bloody but not broken, and I’m physically okay.”
Moreover, investigators added that they are treating the incident as a hate crime.
Police chief Eric Jolliffe said: “York Regional Police will always respond, and lay charges where warranted, for behaviour that targets someone solely because of their sexual orientation or any other reason that is motivated by prejudice or hate.
“Such incidents are unacceptable and have no place in our community.”
Qurashi is expected to appear in a Newmarket court on November 22 to address the charges.
