A senior citizen accused of assaulting a woman with his stick on the Deer Lake trails was seen waving the same stick again last Friday.
And spewing some Anti-Asian racism.
K.C. sent me a video in which the man, who is in his mid-70s, is seen screaming and waving his stick.
K.C. contacted the Burnaby RCMP back in March after the same senior allegedly assaulted an Asian woman for walking the wrong way on the one-way Deer Lake trails. The police responded (see the above) photo and made an arrest. They are still investigating.
“On May 28, I met the attacker again in the Deer Lake Park,” said K.C. “He was sitting on a bench and called me, ‘You’re that f***ing Asian who got me arrested by the cops the other day. I then looked at him and recalled that he was the one who assaulted an Asian senior lady two months earlier. I took out my phone and started recording. I asked him, ‘What you have just called me?’ He wouldn’t say ‘f***ing Asian’ again. Instead, he kept repeating that I was a liar, that lady and I lied to the police, and I threatened to beat him.”
Burnaby RCMP said recently that anti-Asian hate crimes had skyrocketed 350%, which has prompted a series of rallies to combat such hate.
At the end of April, Burnaby council passed a proclamation declaring May 10 a Day of Action Against Asian Racism after a plea from the group Stand With Asians Coalition and Burnaby resident Doris Mah. On Tuesday (May 4), the Social Planning Committee of the City of Burnaby approved a motion to look at the possibility of an anti-racism task force, which would look similar to the Mayor's Task Force on Housing.
K.C. says more action is needed.
“Some of my elder Asian neighbours are now afraid of going to the park again by themselves because this man also lives in our neighbourhood,” he said.
This follows Burnaby resident and city council byelection candidate Alison Gu speaking out after a racist encounter.
Gu, who is running for the Burnaby Citizens Association in the June 26 byelection, tweeted this past weekend that a man spewed racist comments at her on Sunday.
Gu, who comes from a Chinese background but was born and raised in Burnaby, tweeted "This morning, a man yelled "F*** you!! Go back to where you came from!!" at me. You never think it'll happen to you. And then it does."
Gu told the NOW, she was riding her bike Sunday morning (May 16) when someone walked in front of her, which prompted her to say "Hey!"
"They responded with "Oh, f*** off! F*** you! Go back to where you came from!" she says.
It's a terrible thing to see and it's not just some isolated incidents. This is pervasive racism being seen over and over again in our city. Asian residents of Burnaby should be able to walk free without fear of being threatened.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
