11-year-old Khawlah Noman was walking to her Scarborough school this morning when a stranger approached and tried to twice cut off her hijab using scissors.

The student at Pauline Johnson Junior Public, in the Birchmount-Sheppard area, says she screamed after the first attempt and that the man ran off, only to return minutes later.

The girl says he smiled before fleeing for good.

(CBC)

”I felt really scared and confused,” said Khawlah, who had a message for the attacker.

”What you’re doing is really wrong, you should not act like this, and especially, I’m a kid.”

Her mother says she’s not sure why this happened, that ”it’s just not Canada … this is not who we are.”

Police say they’re not sure if this was a hate crime.

Speaking after a two-day cabinet retreat in London, the prime minister commented on the incident.

”My heart goes out to the young girl, who was attacked seemingly for her religion.  I can’t imagine how afraid she must have been.  I want her and her family and her friends and community to know that that is not what Canada is, that is not who Canadians are.  I’d like to think she knows that well.”