RCMP in western PEI have charged four men in connection with an alleged assault and vandalism in Abram-Village in early September.
Police were called to the Évangéline Recreation Center around 1:30 a.m. on September 3 as the PEI Acadian Festival event was wrapping up. Two men were injured and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Some people who were volunteering at the festival also reported that their vehicles were vandalized in the parking lot.
Local groups said the victims were immigrants from Algeria who had settled in the area and called the attack racially motivated.
One of the people injured in the attack worked for the Coopérative d’Intégration Francophone, the provincial agency that helps new French-speaking immigrants. The other was an employee at the PEI French Day Care Association, which relies heavily on newcomers to fill positions in its system.
The PEI advocacy group BIPOC USHR (which stands for Black, Indigenous and People of Color United for Strength, Home, Relationships) said the attack represented a case of Islamophobia.
Within days, police made four arrests, but more than two months later, these are the first news of charges against the men.
They are:
- Darren Richard, 29, of Egmont Bay, is charged with assault and uttering threats;
- Samuel Bernard, 25, of Urbanville, is charged with assault;
- Troy Gallant, 28, of the village of Abram, is charged with assault;
- Tyson Arsenault, 23, of Wellington, is charged with criminal mischief, a Criminal Code offense involving damage to property.
The RCMP will continue to work with BIPOC Islanders to build safer communities, says East Prince RCMP Const. Gavin Moore. (Gabriel Drummond/Radio-Canada)
“PEI RCMP recognizes that incidents like this have a profound effect beyond the individuals directly involved,” RCMP Const. Gavin Moore said in a news release issued Friday morning.
“We continue to work with the BIPOC community and all Islanders towards the common goal of building safer communities.”
Witnesses are still being sought
RCMP are still appealing for witnesses to the incident.
At a community meeting held on September 7, the vice president of the French Day Care Association, Patrick Buswell, said he hoped witnesses would come forward.
Patrick Buswell, vice president of the PEI French Day Care Association, said in September that many people in the community felt ashamed after the attack. (Rick Gibbs/CBC)
“Maybe they’re afraid of possibly sharing information, knowing that these attackers can get back at them,” he said.
“I hope that these witnesses will choose to stand up to the intimidation, the harassment, the violence… It’s so important for the healing process, but also for identifying the people who were part of these horrific acts.”
A kindergarten worker has moved
The daycare worker who was injured in the attack moved out of the Evangelical region with his family shortly after because he no longer felt safe, daycare association officials said.
Isabelle Dasilva-Gill, executive director of SAFÎLE (Société acadienne et francophone de l’Î.-P.-É.), the main voice of PEI’s Acadian and francophone communities, said at the time that the move was not surprising.
“You have to understand that people come here for safety … The first reflex is to get out of the danger zone,” she said.
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