Student attacked for speaking Punjabi in Winnipeg park

An international student from India found himself targeted by a large group of teenagers in a public park in Winnipeg, As Mark Neufeld reports, the victim says after he and his friends were overheard speaking Punjabi an altercation took place.

By Mark Neufeld

One person is facing charges after a Winnipeg international student had racist remarks hurled at him and his car destroyed by a group of teens.

A video obtained by CityNews shows a vehicle of the student, who is asking not to be identified over safety concerns, being vandalized by a group of teens on Oct. 15 in Crescent Drive Park in Winnipeg around 11:30 p.m.

The victim went to the park to hang out with four of his friends and noticed a large group of teenagers eyeing him as soon as he got to the park. He was joined by friends, some of whom were wearing turbans. They began conversing in their first language and the teenagers confronted them over it.

 

“So we [were] just talking our Punjabi and then one of them starting saying, ‘Yo, hey bro, if you can’t speak English then don’t stay here, go back,’ like these types of things which hurts me a lot,” they explained.

The victim believes the teens were under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

He says they continued to hurl racist remarks at him, at which point he and his friends told the teenagers to leave them alone. Eventually, the teens left and the victim thought the worst was over.

“We started our bonfire, and after that, we heard a noise of breaking glass.”

The victim says he went to see what caused the noise and his heart sank when he saw a large group of teens smashing his vehicle with baseball bats and vandalizing his car seats. The victim ran over to stop the group at which point he says they pulled out large knives and threatened him.

“Knives like this big,” explaining and motioning from hand to elbow, the length of a forearm.

Concerned for his life, the victim says he and his friends ran away and called 911.

Police say, right now, only one teenager is currently facing charges related to the vehicle damage.

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