The family of the man who was injured in a stabbing over the weekend in White Rock is pleading with the public: “Please do not go to the pier.”
Bikram Sandhu says his niece Manpreet Kaur and her husband Jatinder Singh have been in Canada for just two months. After hearing great things about the White Rock pier, the couple decided it was one of the first places they wanted to visit.
After a bus dropped them off at the pier on Sunday, “this horrific incident happened,” Sandhu said.
It would later be reported by police that someone near the pier was stabbed and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The family has since identified the 28-year-old as Jatinder Singh.
Sandhu said that the newlywed couple had moved to Canada with dreams of starting their life in Vancouver together.
“They were really excited about their bright future,” he told Daily Hive. “Like every other person who comes from India, everybody has a dream, and they had one, too. They were very excited.”
A long road to recovery ahead
Before moving to Surrey, Kaur received her student visa and Singh’s work permit. Since then, Kaur has been studying at a local college as Singh worked to support the two of them, Sandhu said. However, since the tragic incident over the weekend, the couple has been left with hefty hospital bills because Singh doesn’t have MSP coverage, according to Sandhu.
While Singh was released from the hospital, Sandhu said he has a long road to recovery yet. Apart from supporting her husband’s recovery, Sandhu said Kaur has the stress of covering medical and living costs.
“[Kaur] doesn’t have a job. Now she has to take care of [Singh] full time… She has to be at home all the time. And they have to worry about their groceries, their rent, the hospital bill,” Sandhu explained, adding he has created a GoFundMe for the couple.
The Delta resident said he’d been close to the couple before they moved to Canada and helped them navigate their lives after landing. However, he never imagined himself supporting them during such a traumatic event.
“It has shaken not just them but the whole community, my family, my friends. We were in so much shock… how could something like this happen to anybody? Especially for them, as newcomers to Canada, first time ever going to the pier, minding their own business, sitting on a bench. This is really sad and worrisome,” Sandhu expressed.
“I don’t think I feel safe going there”
Sandhu said that, as a local, he does not feel safe visiting the White Rock pier until the suspect is caught and cautions others to avoid the area as well.
He also shared his frustration with the City and police response after a second similar attack occurred in White Rock this week.
A second stabbing took place Tuesday evening near Totem Park, just metres away from where Singh was stabbed earlier in the week. Sadly, the victim died despite life-saving efforts.
While the descriptions of the suspect in both incidents — as well as the time and area where the stabbings took place — are somewhat similar, police said they cannot confirm if the two incidents are related but that they are investigating to determine whether or not there is a conclusive link.
However, Sandhu criticized the response to the first stabbing, saying, “I think it’s a total failure of the government, of the RCMP not issuing a public warning. Had the RCMP issued a public alert that the suspect was still on lose… [the victim] would have been with us today.”
“We lost an innocent life with all this,” he added.
On Wednesday, White Rock’s mayor said that the City has “heightened” police presence and patrols along the waterfront and surrounding areas” in response to the events.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Rob Dixon also said while the public will see more police presence, it “doesn’t mean it’s any more dangerous.”
In response, Sandhu said, “I don’t think it was the right statement issued by the police and the mayor of White Rock.”
“I don’t think I feel safe going there… this is really insane… They are protecting the image of the City,” he said.
Anyone with information about Sunday’s incident is asked to call White Rock RCMP at 778-545-4800. If you know anything about Tuesday’s stabbing, you can contact the IHIT info line at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or email [email protected].