An Abbotsford family is speaking out after their elderly grandfather was seriously injured in an apparently random attack.
It happened around 11 a.m. on Friday on South Fraser Way, as the 89-year-old was headed to Cedar Park to shop at some of his favourite South Asian shops, according to his grandson.
Sunny, whose last name Global News is not revealing fear of retaliation, said a stranger walked up to his grandfather and assaulted him without provocation.
“When they get close to him, they just violently shoved him to the ground, and then they walked away,” he said.
It was more than 15 minutes before someone came to the senior’s aid and called 911.
On Saturday, he remained in hospital waiting for an emergency surgery for a fractured hip.
“The doctors told us he’s not going to be able to walk the same. After the surgery, his one leg will be a little bit shorter,” Sunny said.
“We don’t understand why somebody would do this, why they would attack and old man who’s minding his own business.”
Sunny said the family was speaking out from concern that other seniors could also be targeted.
“We don’t know if my grandpa was targeted because he wears a turban, we don’t know if this person just had a mental illness,” he said.
Abbotsford police confirmed they were in the early stages of investigating the case, but that there was no immediate information to suggest the incident was a hate crime.
With files from Julia Foy