EDMONTON -- A 44-year-old man is now facing charges in connection with three hate-motivated incidents involving women in Edmonton.

The first incident happened on Jan. 18 around 2:10 p.m. An unknown man verbally threatened a 43-year-old Black woman outside a convenience store in the area of 91 Street and 82 Avenue, the Edmonton Police Service said. He reportedly followed the woman into the store, where he assaulted her. He ran from the scene on foot before police arrived.

The second incident happened around 12:15 p.m. on Feb. 3 at the University of Alberta transit centre. A 19-year-old woman wearing a hijab was waiting at the transit centre when she was reportedly approached by an unknown man who made racist comments and postured as though he was about to assault her, police said. An ETS employee got involved, and the man ran from the scene.

The third incident happened about 30 minutes later in the area of 100 Street and 82 Avenue. A 27-year-old Black woman wearing a burqa was walking alone on the sidewalk when an unknown man ran across the road and allegedly blocked her path. The man reportedly started swearing and yelling insults at her, before crossing the street and leaving.

The woman kept walking eastbound across 99 Street, and the man came up behind her again and pushed her and made threats to kill her and tear off her burqa, EPS said. He then left the area.

Shane Edward Tremblay, who police say has no fixed address, has been charged with three counts of uttering threats and three counts of assault.

The EPS Hate Crimes Unit has also recommended that the courts consider increasing the sentence under Section 718.2 of the Criminal Code of Canada because there is evidence the offences were motivated by hate.

“The actions of this individual have traumatized these three women and created a significant level of fear in our community,” said EPS Sgt. Gary Willits, of the EPS Hate Crimes and Violent Extremism Unit. “I’m grateful to our partners, including ETS Transit officials, the University of Alberta Protective Services, businesses along Whyte Avenue and the convenience store staff, all of whom played an instrumental role in identifying our suspect, who is well known to police and ETS for multiple related incidents over the last few years.”