has discovered that the individual facing charges in a baseball bat assault against an immigrant family is a personal injury lawyer from Toronto and the great-grandson of Nathan Phillips, a former mayor of Toronto.
Mark Phillips, 36, was charged on Dec. 8 with aggravated assault and three counts of assault with a weapon related to the incident that occurred in the parking lot of a strip mall in St. Thomas, Ont.
The family reported that the man approached them without provocation, leading them to capture the confrontation on their cellphone; footage of which has since circulated widely across news platforms and social media.
The video depicts a man shouting about terrorists, ISIS while swinging his bat, resulting in local resident Sergio Estepa suffering from a cracked rib and significant bruising on his back.
None of the accusations against Phillips have been established in court yet.
Family attacked, called terrorists by man wielding bat
A family in southwestern Ontario experienced an attack where they were labeled as terrorists by a man brandishing a bat. Sergio Estepa is recovering from a cracked rib along with large bruises after what happened at a mall parking lot. Mark Phillips, 36, faces charges for aggravated assault and three counts of assault with a weapon.
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Nathan Phillips served as Toronto’s first Jewish mayor from 1955 until 1962. Many credit his approachable personality and advocacy for tolerance as key elements forming today’s cultural diversity within the city. (City of Toronto)
Following in his great-grandfather’s footsteps, Mark Phillips pursued law as well; he became licensed in September 2008 after graduating from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., back in 2007 per details found on his Linked In profile.
He began working as a personal injury lawyer at Mazin Rooz Mazin firm based in Toronto but only remained there for about one year before moving between three other firms without staying longer than three years each time.
At one firm where he worked, he leveraged connections to help childhood friend Chun-Yun Liu secure his initial paralegal position.
“You know how hard it is to get a job in this business, especially when you have no experience,” Liu stated. “I was looking for work and he was always pretty supportive. The rest is history.”
‘Law has been running in my blood for four generations’
has identified the suspect
Liu has been friends with Phillips since they were students together in Grade 7. They attended high school together but eventually took different paths while still keeping contact roughly every few months thereafter.>
“He always seemed to me pretty sensible, pretty level-headed,” Liu recalled. “He was the type of guy who wouldn’t hurt anybody. He was always there for me.”>
Liu expressed disbelief when he first read about Phillips’ arrest.>![]()
A woman poses for a picture in the square outside Toronto city hall that bears Nathan Phillips’ name. (Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press)>
“I was kind of hoping against hope it wasn’t him,” adding that he felt even more surprised upon learning St. Thomas police think this incident may have had racial motivations.>
“Mark is pretty multi-cultural among friends he’s made,” Liu said. “I’ve never known him to be any kind of racial extremist or whatever you want to call it.”>
“That video showed someone completely different from the Mark I knew.”>
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Family attacked, called terrorists by man wielding bat
A family in southwestern Ontario experienced an attack where they were labeled as terrorists by a man brandishing a bat. Sergio Estepa is recovering from a cracked rib along with large bruises after what happened at a mall parking lot. Mark Phillips, 36, faces charges for aggravated assault and three counts of assault with a weapon.
‘Mayor of all the people’
Phillips’ great-grandfather was known as “the mayor of all the people,” being Toronto’s first Jewish mayor. Nathan Phillips’ election was considered progress toward acceptance and diversity within the city. A public square located outside Toronto city hall honors his legacy. A childhood friend shared with CBC News that his portrait still hangs at his accused parents’ home in Toronto. The family is both shocked and saddened by these events, according to uncle Jeff Phillips, who practices law in London, Ont. “His father is very upset,” he remarked while noting he didn’t have much more to add due to having lost contact with his nephew over time. “I honestly don’t know,” he continued. “I’m not involved with him.”
‘Law has been running in my blood for four generations’
has identified the suspect
Liu has been friends with Phillips since they were students together in Grade 7. They attended high school together but eventually took different paths while still keeping contact roughly every few months thereafter.>
“He always seemed to me pretty sensible, pretty level-headed,” Liu recalled. “He was the type of guy who wouldn’t hurt anybody. He was always there for me.”>
Liu expressed disbelief when he first read about Phillips’ arrest.>Remanded into custody
According to details on Linked In， Philips had previously worked at Barapp Law-a personal injury firm located within Toronto-but it’s unclear if he’s still employed there now.> Phillips’ profile along with image have been taken off their website; however， videos promoting his services remain online showcasing some aspects regarding his political heritage.> When contacted by ， senior partner Eric Barapp declined further comment.> Phillips remains held at Elgin Middlesex London Detention Centre awaiting another court appearance scheduled later this week.Source link
