A youth has been charged in Canada after a disturbing video surfaced showing an elderly Sikh man being verbally abused, threatened, and assaulted in a hate-motivated incident in Woodstock, Ontario.
Incident Details
Woodstock police reported that the incident occurred on Wednesday at approximately 11:35 a.m. on Knights Lane near Turtle Island School. The elderly man was walking along a sidewalk when the young man approached him.
According to a police release, the investigation determined that the youth unprovokedly assaulted the elderly individual while yelling racially charged comments and obscenities. The youth targeted the victim based on his ethnicity.
Videos circulating online, which police confirm are part of the investigation, show the youth repeatedly shouting racist abuse, including, “What the f**k are you doing in my country?” He also used the N-word repeatedly, pushed the man, and said, “You ain’t from here, get the f**k out of my country,” “I will beat the f**k out of you,” and “I will kill you (N-word).” The youth mocked the man’s accent as well.
Victim's Response
The victim, identified as Shingara Singh, told OMNI News he was on his way to a Gurdwara when the incident took place. Despite the ordeal, he shared a message of peace and patience. “It’s our responsibility to follow the rules of the country we are living in. We have been told here that we can’t raise our hands to fight back, we have to be patient unless an extreme situation arises,” he said.
Police confirmed that the victim was not injured. After the assault, the youth jumped a fence onto school property before leaving the area.
Charges and Community Reaction
The youth 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 has deeply affected the community. “It is a very difficult moment for the victim and as well as the community witnessing something like this,” he told OMNI News.
The World Sikh Organization of Canada condemned the attack, stating, “We are deeply concerned by a video circulating online showing an elderly Sikh man being harassed in Woodstock, Ontario. This is unacceptable.”
A recent national report by the organization found that more than 80 percent of Sikh respondents believe discrimination and hate against Sikhs have increased over the past five years, with verbal harassment being the most common form of abuse. A separate report by the Institute of Strategic Dialogue also noted a rise in anti-South Asian hate speech in Canada, raising concerns about the safety of visible minority communities and international students.
