Woodstock police say they’ve charged a youth after he allegedly harassed and assaulted an “elderly individual” who was walking along a sidewalk near Turtle Island School on Wednesday morning.
Investigators say the incident, which occurred at around 11:35 a.m. on Knights Lane, was unprovoked and appears to be hate-motivated.
“The youth targeted the victim based on their ethnicity, while yelling racially charged comments and obscenities,” a police release alleges.
The victim was not injured.
Following the incident, the youth jumped a fence on school property before exiting the school area, police add.
The suspect, who can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was later arrested and charged with uttering threats – cause death or bodily harm, and criminal harassment – threatening conduct.
He was held for a bail hearing.
“Acts of hate have no place in our community,” the release adds. “The Woodstock Police Service is committed to ensuring all members of the community feel safe and protected. We encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed a hate-motivated incident to report it to police. Woodstock Police Service will pursue and hold those who commit hate crimes accountable.”
A video of the alleged incident has been circulating online, prompting the World Sikh Organization of Canada to release a statement condemning the incident.
“We are deeply concerned by a video circulating online showing an elderly Sikh man being harassed in Woodstock, Ontario. This is unacceptable,” the group said.
We are deeply concerned by a video circulating online showing an elderly Sikh man being harassed in Woodstock, Ontario. This is unacceptable.We thank the @Woodstock_PS for their prompt response.As our recent Anti-Sikh Hate Report shows, these incidents are part of a broader… pic.twitter.com/6mmDMJXdh9
A recent national report by the World Sikh Organization found that more than 80 per cent of respondents believe discrimination and hate against Sikhs has increased over the past five years, with verbal harassment reported as the most common form of hate.
The survey reported data from over 1,600 Sikh Canadians collected between January 1 and March 1, 2025.
A report by the Institute of Strategic Dialogue also reported a similar trend in anti-South Asian hate speech in Canada, raising concerns about the safety of international students and visible minority communities.
With files by Rashmeen Rupal, OMNI News