A 37-year-old man has been arrested and charged following a widely circulated, hate-motivated incident at a Costco in Halifax’s Bayers Lake business district. Randall Byron Publicover is scheduled to appear in Halifax Provincial Court on July 10 to face a battery of criminal charges stemming from the confrontation and his subsequent arrest.
The investigation began following a confrontation where a suspect was recorded launching a profanity-laden, racist tirade inside the retail store. The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) later identified the confrontation as a "racist and Islamophobic attack" directed at two Muslim women wearing hijabs.
In the video footage shared across the country, the suspect can be heard shouting at individuals to “get out of our country” and repeatedly threatening to kill those targeted. The footage also appeared to capture the suspect striking the individual who was recording the encounter.
High-Risk Arrest in Port Dufferin
Following a public appeal for information, Halifax Regional Police, alongside members of the RCMP Halifax Regional Detachment, located the suspect on Thursday afternoon, July 9, at a residence in Port Dufferin, Nova Scotia.
The arrest escalated when the suspect brandished a weapon against responding law enforcement. In response, officers deployed a conductive energy weapon (taser) to safely subdue him. The suspect was treated at the scene by Emergency Health Services (EHS) and was medically cleared shortly thereafter.
Full List of Criminal Charges
Possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace
Community and Witness Response
Fayez Hamam, the bystander who recorded the viral video and contacted 911, expressed deep shock and anger over the incident. Having lived in Halifax for nearly two decades, Hamam noted that he had never witnessed an event of this nature in the community before.
Following news of the arrest, the NCCM released a statement expressing relief and extending gratitude to the Halifax Regional Police for their swift dedication to the file.
Halifax Regional Police have thanked the public for their assistance in identifying the suspect, reiterating that hate-motivated incidents are taken with the utmost seriousness. Law enforcement continues to encourage citizens to report any threatening, offensive, or intimidating behavior, noting that keeping an official record remains vital even if an incident does not ultimately meet the threshold for criminal prosecution. The investigation remains ongoing.