Toronto man arrested for throwing faeces on people

Ottawa: A Toronto man has been charged for throwing faeces on unsuspecting people in apparently random attacks on university campuses and a downtown street in Canada's largest city.

Samuel Opoku, 23, was arrested late Tuesday and faces 10 counts of mischief and assault with a weapon. A packed courtroom awaited his brief appearance before a judge on Wednesday.

According to police, he allegedly emptied a bucket of liquified faeces over a mother and child seated at a table at a university library, threw fecal matter onto a woman and a man at another university campus, and emptied a bucket of human waste on a woman on a downtown Toronto street.

The incidents occurred on Friday, Sunday and Monday, respectively.

The bucket used in the most recent attack was recovered by police and is being tested to determine its contents, including possible pathogens.

Canadian media showed images of a firefighter hosing down the scene of the latest attack on Monday and surveillance video that showed the suspect in a yellow construction hat carrying a bucket.

Toronto mayor John Tory thanked police for their quick response. "I hope this arrest will help calm concern on campuses and across the city," he said in a tweet.