It was a full house at the White Rock Community Centre Tuesday night, as the RCMP held a townhall to address safety concerns from the public following a pair of stabbings in April.
Mounties told community members they did their best to let the public know what was going on in the days that followed the violent incidents — one on April 21 that left a man with serious neck injuries, and another two days later, on April 23, that killed another man.
Despite the communication, many said they weren’t pleased. The speed at which the public was notified about the violence and the general fear of increased crime were just some of the complaints levelled at the RCMP during the meeting.
Surrey-White Rock MLA Trevor Halford was also there.
“This is an opportunity for us to gather together, to start healing, to make sure that we’re supporting the family — making sure we’re supporting the community because I can tell you, people are fed up with the crime that we are seeing, not just in White Rock but in Surrey, other areas, in Vancouver, I see it in Prince George,” he told reporters. “People are saying enough is enough.”
Some people have previously told CityNews they were telling their loved ones to avoid the White Rock waterfront in the wake of the stabbings. The sentiment was also echoed among many attending Tuesday’s community meeting.
“When the stabbing happened down at the pier, we were terrified. I put all my kids on heightened alert. Don’t go to the beach, watch yourself,” one woman in attendance said.
“Then, when the second stabbing happened and actually somebody died, it was terrifying.”
The meeting came the same day charges were laid in the first of the two incidents. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) announced Tuesday that 27-year-old Dimitri Nelson Hyacinth had been charged with aggravated assault in connection with the stabbing of Jatinder Singh on April 21. Hyacinth was arrested on Monday in connection with the homicide of Kulwinder Singh Sohi, though no charges have been laid in that case.
“What I’ll say is we’re still continuing to work with BC Prosecution, because they’re the ones that ultimately make the decision on if someone is charged with the offence or not,” Sgt. Timothy Pierotti told CityNews.
“We’ve presented the evidence that we currently have to them, and they made a decision to lay a charge in relation to the aggravated assault, which resulted in Mr. Dimitri Hyacinth being charged and held in custody.”
In the days following the second stabbing, the RCMP said it was stepping up patrols, with dedicated officers for the waterfront.