The Calgary Police Service says a man accused of threatening staff and the congregation of a Russian Orthodox Church has been charged with hate-motivated crimes.
Police say they believe the suspect targeted the All Saints Russian Orthodox Church on Tuesday because of its Russian heritage.
On the same day police say they received four other reports of threats and harassment against Russian-Calgarians.
Police say they investigated all the reports and found them to be related.
Christopher Duchaine, who is 36, has been charged with five counts of criminal harassment.
Constable Matt Messenger of the police Hate Crime and Extremism Team says all five of the reports have been deemed hate-motivated crimes.
“We would like to make it clear that hate-motivated crimes of any kind will not be tolerated in our city,” Messenger said Thursday in a release.
“We take these incidents seriously and recognize hate-motivated crimes have negative impacts on victims and in these cases have left victims feeling unsafe.”