The wife of the man stabbed along the White Rock, B.C., promenade Sunday evening is speaking out, saying they no longer feel safe in the country they came to just a couple months ago.
Manpreet Kaur says she and her husband Jadinder Singh arrived in Canada two months ago from India and had just begun building their new life. Singh was working in a mill and Kaur is going to school.
The pair finally found their first moment to spend some quality time together and decided to take the bus to White Rock pier. They had been told it was a beautiful spot for a peaceful walk.
Kaur says they had been enjoying their day and were sitting on a bench near the pier around 9 p.m. when suddenly her husband cried out and held his hand to his neck.
When they looked back, she says there was a man holding what looked like a silver weapon that was glistening in the low light.
The couple began yelling at the man but Kaur says he did not run.
“His expression was just like blank,” she said. “We haven’t seen that person in our life.”
The pair eventually decided to run away and seek help as Singh was bleeding from his neck. She says they were screaming for people to help them, but no one came to their aid. She ended up calling 911 herself and emergency crews arrived soon after.
Get daily BC news
Police confirm they found a 28-year-old victim and took them to hospital. Kaur says she was not allowed to go in the ambulance with her husband, adding the whole experience has been traumatizing.
Police initially took her to the wrong hospital, Kaur says, and when they arrived at the correct location officers wanted her to provide a statement before she had a chance to see her husband.
“They were just like, we want your statement. I’m just, I will not give you any statement. First, I want to see my husband. Is he okay or not?” she said.
She says a doctor at the hospital noted how they had not been in Canada long and welcomed them.
“It’s a really bad welcome to Canada, it’s not a good one,” Kaur said, adding she doesn’t trust anyone anymore.
“Today we are not safe in Canada. We didn’t feel safer. How can we walk at night? Now I’m in this condition, I can’t go out alone. I can’t even let my husband go out alone.”
She says they only know family and a couple friends, so they do not know why they were attacked.
“So what is our fault? Why did he do this to my husband?” she said.
Singh is now at home recovering, but Kaur says they are now looking at a large hospital bill.
Kaur says they believed they had medical coverage from their home country but have since learned they have no insurance. She says her husband is the only one with an income and they aren’t sure how they will afford groceries and school bills.
“It’s very concerning. Public safety is our number one priority.” White Rock Mayor Megan Knight said Monday. “We are looking into different measures to try and improve the safety. We’ve got a report coming from council on CCTV cameras. We’re considering putting those in different areas of the city.”
A GoFundMe has been set up for the family.
Police increase their presence in the area starting in May, Knight said, as warmer weather draws more people to the area. However, she does not believe there has been a significant uptick in violence in her community.
“I think like any city around, we’ve got more population coming in and different scenarios happening and I think crime will follow,” she said. “And this is a desirable area. People love to be out here… so if that draws a little bit of conflict because of a certain group or certain people are having a fight over something, then that’s something my RCMP detachment will deal with.”
Police were on scene in White Rock through the night Sunday, but so far have not announced the arrest of any suspects or a possible motive for the attack.
Mounties are asking anyone with information to reach out to them at 778-545-4800.