Wife of White Rock, B.C., stabbing victim speaks out after apparent random attack

A couple who recently immigrated to British Columbia from India is expressing fear for their safety after one of them was stabbed in the neck, seemingly at random, while out near the White Rock pier.

White Rock RCMP say they received a report of a stabbing near the pier at around 9 p.m. PT Sunday.

Jatinder Singh, 28, suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the stabbing, and has been left with stitches that his wife says make it difficult for him to work at the mill where he is employed.

Manpreet Kaur says that incident is causing them to re-evaluate their recent entry to B.C., as she is a student and the couple now faces trouble making ends meet.

Jatinder Singh, right, was the victim of a seemingly random stabbing attack on Sunday night in White Rock, B.C. He and his wife speak to the CBC's Sohrab Sandhu. (CBC)

"It's a very bad welcome to Canada ... There's no security, nothing in Canada," she told CBC News.

Kaur says she and Singh were spending some quality time at the pier, which was particularly crowded on Sunday.

She recalls sitting on a bench with her husband, enjoying the sunset, when someone came up from behind and hit Singh in the neck.

"At that time we didn't know that he's, like, just hit my husband's neck with a knife," Kaur said. "Then we saw that there's a weapon in his hand."

The victim, Jatinder Singh, suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the stabbing. (Shane MacKichan)

They initially yelled at the assailant, then ran away after realizing he had a knife, according to Kaur.

She said the man, whom she didn't know, had a "blank expression" on his face and didn't say a word during the stabbing.

She also said no one in the area, despite the significant crowds, offered any help as she called 9-1-1.

"He was screaming like, 'Please help me, help me, help my wife,'" she said. "But no one [helped] us."

The stabbing occurred during a busy day on the White Rock pier, Kaur says. (Shane MacKichan)

The couple, who arrived in B.C. on Feb. 18, said they have little capacity to pay any medical bills that arise, with Kaur saying they are considering a return to India.

White Rock Coun. Christopher Trevelyan says the seemingly random attack is "very unusual" for the normally quiet area, and he would push for more CCTV coverage around the pier to deter future violence.

"These kinds of random attacks are happening in all communities and no community's immune — and neither is White Rock," he said. "I'm of the opinion that we really need to try to get out ahead of the curve and do what we can to maintain public safety."

Christopher Trevelyan, a White Rock city councillor, says this sort of serious attack is the first such occurrence the city has seen in a very long time. (Sohrab Sandhu/CBC)

In a statement, White Rock Mayor Megan Knight said she encouraged anyone with more information about the stabbing to contact police.

RCMP say the suspect in the random attack is described as a Black man wearing a baseball cap and a grey hoodie.