An attempted murder charge was added in connection with the attacks on Asian victims

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The Ottawa Police Service’s Hate Crimes and Bias Unit has charged Kevin Belisle with an additional charge of attempted murder and three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in connection with the Nov. 17 attacks in the Centretown and Chinatown neighborhoods.

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Belisle, 32, of Ottawa, was originally charged with two counts of assault and one count of aggravated assault and mischief, but another victim has since come forward, police said Tuesday.

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Belisle was scheduled to appear in court on the additional charges on November 27.

OPS is asking anyone with additional information about these incidents to contact the Hate Crimes and Bias Unit at 613-236-1222, extension 5105.

“We continue to encourage anyone who witnesses or witnesses such incidents to report them to the police,” OPS said in a statement. “Reporting hate-motivated incidents is an important step in stopping cycles of hate.”

On November 17 between 8:45 p.m. and 10:15 p.m., police responded to three calls for service in reference to robberies on Laurier Avenue West, Bronson Avenue and Bank Street.

Police said the Central Division’s Criminal Investigations Section was involved because all the assaults “were considered hate-motivated as all three victims were of Asian descent and the descriptions of the suspects in each attack were similar.”

Police confirmed that the next victim who came forward was also of Asian descent.

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