CTVNews.ca Staff
Toronto police say an incident involving an 11-year-old girl who claimed to have her hijab cut by a stranger on the street "did not happen."
On Friday, Toronto police said they were investigating a report that a young girl was attacked by a man with scissors, as she was walking to school in the east end of the city.
According to officers at the time, the 11-year-old girl was on her way to Pauline Johnson Public School in Scarborough, when she felt something and turned around to see a man trying to cut her hijab with a pair of scissors. She said she screamed and ran away, but the man returned less than 10 minutes later and tried to cut it once again.
In a brief statement released on Monday, police said: "After a detailed investigation, police have determined that the events described in the original news release did not happen."
In a press conference at the girl's school on Friday, she told reporters that she felt "confused, scared and terrified" when seeing the man behind her and that she is afraid to walk to class.
"I'm actually really scared, but I have family to support me," she said at the time. "This is terrible and I do not like it. I feel like this should stop."
After hearing news of the incident, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, Toronto Mayor John Tory and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne all condemned the alleged attack.
"My heart goes out the young girl who was attacked, seemingly for her religion," PM Trudeau told reporters at the time. "We all need to remind ourselves of today and every day that we are better than this."