'A bad welcome': B.C. stabbing victim is new to Canada, wife says

The man who was stabbed by a stranger on the White Rock Pier last weekend is new to Canada, according to his wife.

The couple was sitting on a bench at the popular Metro Vancouver attraction when an unknown man approached them from behind on Sunday night – then stabbed the husband in the neck.

"We are screaming," recalled Manpreet, the victim's wife. "We are asking people for help – please help us, please call the police."

CTV News agreed not to use the couple's surname to protect their identity.

The victim is now recovering from his injury at home, with help from Manpreet, who has taken time off from school to tend to her husband.

The couple only arrived in the country two months ago.

"It was a bad welcome," Manpreet said of the shocking attack. "We don't feel safe in Canada anymore."

The incident came days before another stabbing near the White Rock waterfront promenade, just 500 metres from where the couple was sitting.

The attack on Tuesday night was fatal – a stark reminder for Manpreet that her husband's stabbing could have ended much worse.

"I got the news and I was shocked," she said. "It's maybe by God's grace that he's alive, he's surviving."

The White Rock RCMP said Sunday's attack appears to have been committed at random, without any prior confrontation. The stabbing took place around 9 p.m., and authorities believe there were many other people in the area who might have witnessed the incident.

The RCMP asked anyone with information to come forward.

So far, it's unclear whether that stabbing and the one on Tuesday night were linked. In a statement, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said it has neither "confirmed, nor ruled out" the possibility that the same person was responsible for both incidents.