Etobicoke man covers up hateful graffiti in Dennis Flynn Park

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Chris Fox CP24.com

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An Etobicoke man took matters into his own hands and covered up hateful graffiti after discovering it at Dennis Flynn Park on Saturday morning.

Mike Yakhni was walking his dog through the park near The West Mall and Burnhamthorpe Road at around 7:30 a.m. when he saw that someone had written a message disparaging Muslims on a sign welcoming visitors to the grounds.

Yakhini said that after seeing the message he called 311 to alert city officials of the vandalism and then went to his home nearby to get tape to cover up the message.

“It is terrible. This park is great, it is always busy with kids here and families come with their barbecues and just set up,” he said.

Yakhini said that vandals have left different markings on the signs in the park before but nothing that rose to the level of hate speech, at least to his knowledge. .

He said that the vandalism is disheartening to see, especially on a sign that is right next to a busy playground.

“It is tough to see. It is no good for the kids,” he said.

Police investigating incident as hate crime

Police arrived at the park at around 11 a.m. on Sunday and began an investigation. They are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.

Speaking with CP24 on Saturday morning, Etobicoke Centre Coun. Stephen Holyday said that parks staff are also on scene and will be removing the message from the sign as soon as possible.

“This is just wrong. It is offensive to the people who were targeted in the message but also just to anybody of any religion or any race who reads that. I just hope the perpetrators are caught and this type of thing doesn’t happen again,” he said.

Holyday said that the vandalism is “disappointing to see” but “doesn’t reflect in any way the viewpoints of the people of Etobicoke Centre or the City of Toronto at large.”

In a statement provided to CP24 on Sunday afternoon, Mayor John Tory called the message left on the sign “abhorrent and an example of religious hatred that must absolutely be condemned.”

“Deputy Mayor Holyday, my office and parks staff are working to clean this up right away and police are investigating,” he said.

RELATED IMAGES Mike Yakhni is shown covering up hateful graffiti on a sign inside Dennis Flynn Park on Sunday.