Struggling to pay their bills and leave their home, a couple newly arrived in Canada is getting help from friends, family, and strangers while they recover from a stabbing Sunday in White Rock.
An online fundraiser set up Tuesday by the uncle of the victim’s wife had raised more than $6,500 by Thursday morning.
“The GoFundMe has been launched to help with their rent, their groceries, and their daily needs, as the victim was the only breadwinner for the family,” said Bikram Sandhu.
“On top of that, they are newcomers to Canada, they don’t have medical insurance, and they are worried about their medical bills as well. This will help them pay for the hospital because they don’t have MSP.”
Bikram says his niece Manpreet Kaur is in Canada on a student visa and is unfamiliar with how the Canadian system works, while her husband Jatinder Singh is unable to work at his mill job as he recovers from a deep wound and stitches on the back of his neck.
“Now they are left with this horrific incident and they are shocked and so scared. They just want to go back home. They don’t want to live here,” Bikram told CityNews.
“They don’t even step out of the house. I have to come and get them out for their groceries and everything. Even if someone knocks on the door, they think twice about opening it. The suspect is still at large and they are afraid he might come back for them.”
Singh was stabbed in a random attack while sitting with Kaur on a bench near the White Rock Pier Sunday night.
Police are still hunting for the suspect, along with the person who fatally stabbed another man, Kulwinder Sohi, along the White Rock Waterfront on Wednesday night.
Investigators have yet to definitively link the two attacks, though the suspect description in each case is similar.
“Our faith in the mayor and our faith in the RCMP, I don’t have any faith at all. They still haven’t been able to catch the guy and he’s out there. He could kill somebody else,” said Sandhu.
The White Rock RCMP has said identifying a suspect in the cases is their top priority.
The Mounties have increased patrols in the beachside community.
–With files from Hana Mae Nassar