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Ottawa Police Classify Stabbing of Jewish Woman at Grocery Store as Hate‑Motivated, Charge 71‑Year‑Old Suspect

Police have increased patrols around sites significant to the Jewish community.

OTTAWA, CANADA APRIL 29: Yellow police tape and Police vehicles are blocking a stretch of Rideau Street following a dramatic police-involved shooting near the busy Rideau Centre mall, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on April 29, 2025. Ottawa Police say officers responded to reports of a man with a firearm and shot him during the encounter. He was taken to hospital in critical condition but has since stabilized. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is investigating the incident. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The stabbing occurred inside the Loblaws — a major Canadian supermarket chain — located next to the Centrepointe/Craig Henry neighborhood, which is the city's "highest concentration of Jewish community." (Screenshot from Google Maps)
Jewish groups are calling for more to be done to address hate after the arrest of an Ottawa youth in an alleged plot against the Jewish community. The flags of Canada and Israel fly at half-mast at a community building on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Jewish woman seriously injured in Canada grocery store stabbing, police call it hate crime.

Overview

  • The unprovoked attack occurred Wednesday at the Loblaws on Baseline Road, and the woman in her 70s was treated in hospital and later released.
  • Joseph (Joe) Rooke, 71, of Cornwall, Ontario, was arrested at the scene and charged with aggravated assault and possession of a dangerous weapon.
  • Rooke appeared in court Thursday and is scheduled to return on September 2, according to police and court records.
  • The Hate and Bias Crime Unit is assisting the investigation, reviewing security video and the suspect’s online posts that advocacy groups flagged as antisemitic, and additional charges remain possible.
  • Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe condemned the attack, while CIJA and B’nai Brith urged concrete measures to protect Jewish Canadians.