WARNING: Some details in this story may be disturbing to readers. Discretion is advised.
A 16-year-old boy who was viciously attacked while out for a walk in Surrey, B.C. is speaking out about the incident, and cautioning members of the public not to go for walks alone.
The teen and his father, who have asked not to be identified for their privacy, believe the disturbing incident was racially-motivated and say the RCMP is investigating the assault.
“I feel this was provoked because of my son’s colour. I don’t know what else would have provoked this,” said the father in an interview with Global News.
“The fear is he could have been dead that night. This person bullied him, beat him — this was an adult.”
The boy said he was walking his usual neighbourhood route around 85A Avenue and 144 Street at 6:16 p.m. on Wednesday, when a man pulled up in his vehicle, got out and asked him what he was doing. When the boy told the man he was just out for a walk, he said the man accused him of trying to steal something from the trunk of his car, and attacked him.
“He keeps punching me over and over again. He kicks me in the stomach, picks me back up and knocks me down again,” the teen told Global News.
“He picks me back up and then I try to explain myself, and he says, ‘I don’t believe you.’ He puts me on the ground and then he pulls out his phone and starts filming me, and he tells me to admit what I did wrong on camera.”
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When the beating was over, the teen said the attacker threatened to “pull a bullet in the back of my head” if they ever crossed paths again.
The boy suffered non-life-threatening facial injuries and said he’ll need some dental work, but feels he was lucky not to have sustained more serious injuries.
He now lives in fear, however, and is afraid to walk in his neighbourhood alone.
“It broke me. It broke me, honestly,” he explained. “I feel like I’ve lost my faith in humanity as a whole. I feel like I’ve lost my faith in my neighbourhood. I can’t go for walks anymore. I can’t go out. It’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
The father, who said his son is especially vulnerable because he has Asperger syndrome, said the phone call he received from his son that day describing the attack will haunt him.
“When my son called me, I walked in the house and he said, ‘Dad, dad I just got beat up. Somebody just beat the crap out of me,'” he told Global News, on the verge of tears.
“I asked what happened and then I went to see him. He was bleeding from his face, the police were already there.”
In an emailed statement, Surrey RCMP confirmed it is investigating an assault on a youth. The initial investigation suggests the two parties were previously unknown to each other, said Cpl. Vanessa Munn, and that it was not a random assault.
“Anytime an assault happens it’s concerning, especially when it involves a youth,” she said in an interview.
“Actions like this are completely unacceptable, which is why our investigators are working hard to continue to gather evidence in order to be able to submit a report to Crown counsel and bring this before the courts.”
RCMP say a suspect has been identified, arrested and released on conditions with a future court date.
Meanwhile, both the teen and father are urging members of the public not to walk alone.
“If you’re ever going for a walk, don’t go without a friend,” said the boy.
“My advice is the same as my son’s advice, please be careful walking around the neighbourhood,” his father added.
Both credited the RCMP for its quick response to the attack and its support ever since.
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