Screenshot of racist attack on a Sikh man in Woodstock, Canada
A young man has been charged in Canada after a disturbing video showed an elderly Sikh man being verbally abused, threatened and assaulted in a hate-motivated incident in Woodstock, Ontario.Woodstock police say the incident happened Wednesday around 11:35 a.m. on Knights Lane near Turtle Island School. The old man was walking on the sidewalk when the young man approached him.A police statement said: “The investigation found that a young man assaulted an elderly person who was walking on the sidewalk without provocation. The young man targeted the victim based on his race, while shouting racist comments and obscenities.”
Videos circulating online, which police confirm are part of the investigation, show the youths repeatedly shouting racial slurs, including, “What the hell are you doing to my country?” He can also be heard repeatedly using the N-word, occasionally shoving the man, and saying, “You’re not from here, get the fuck out of my country,” “I’m going to beat the hell out of you,” and “I’m going to kill you (the N-word).” The young man was also seen making fun of the man’s accent.
The victim has been identified as Shingara Singh and told OMNI News that he was on his way to the gurdwara when the accident occurred. Despite the ordeal, he said his message is one of peace and patience.“It is our responsibility to follow the rules of the country we live in,” he said. “We have been told here that we cannot raise our hands to respond, and we have to be patient unless an extreme situation arises.”Police say the victim was not injured. They added that after the assault, the young man jumped a fence on school property before leaving the area.
He was later arrested and charged with uttering threats causing death or bodily harm, criminal harassment, and threatening conduct.Woodstock police constable Pritpal Thind said the incident had a severe impact on the community. “It’s a very difficult moment for the victim and also for the community to witness something like this,” he told OMNI News.The World Sikh Organization in Canada also condemned the attack.“We are deeply concerned about a video circulating online showing an elderly Sikh man being harassed in Woodstock, Ontario. This is unacceptable,” the organization said.Their latest national report found that more than 80% of Sikh respondents believed that discrimination and hatred against Sikhs had increased over the past five years, with verbal harassment being the most common form of abuse. A separate report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue also noted the rise in anti-South Asian hate speech in Canada, raising concerns about the safety of visible minority communities and international students.
