Toronto Police have confirmed that the attack on four Jewish teenagers in north Toronto on Sunday evening was motivated by hate.

“On Sunday, Nov. 11th, shortly after 8 p.m., four young men were walking in this area near Bathurst and Lawrence,” said Police Chief Mark Saunders, speaking Tuesday from the scene of the crime. “The Toronto Police Service has now determined that this was, in fact, a hate crime.”

The four teenagers were walking in the area of Fairholme Ave. and Bathurst St., one block south of Lawrence Ave. W., when a group of approximately nine other teenagers passed them, police say.

They made derogatory comments about the Jewish boys’ religion and the religious garments they were wearing, before assaulting two of the 17-year-old boys. Police said they were “punching and kicking them.”

Before the suspects split up and fled, a pair of sunglasses was stolen from one of the victims.

A robbery and hate crime investigation was launched after the assault. One 17-year-old suspect was arrested at the scene, but Saunders says they “know that there are more outstanding,” and that the police are going to “unturn every stone,” to find them.

The only description of the suspects at this time is that they are teenagers.

“A hate crime is one that we will never normalize in this city,” Saunders said. “And I want to reassure the public that we will do anything and everything to conclude this investigation.”

Noah Shack, the vice-president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs in the GTA put out a statement saying that they were “deeply disturbed” by the incident, and that “Jewish Canadians should never fear wearing their Kippah in public.”

Other city officials and public figures have spoken out.

Mayor John Tory echoed the call for witnesses and information on Twitter, writing that “no one should ever be attacked for their religion.”

“The rise in the frequency of anti-Semitic acts is alarming,” Roman Baber, MPP for the area of York Centre, said in a statement posted on social media. “Anti-Semitic acts of violence or any acts motivated by hate have no place in Ontario.”

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Premier Doug Ford and federal opposition leader Andrew Scheer also tweeted about the incident, Scheer calling it “troubling” and Ford asserting that his “government will not tolerate hatred of any kind.”

Anyone who believes they may have information about the incident is asked to contact police or CrimeStoppers.