Long-time Chinatown security guard 'still traumatized' after random attack; grateful for community support
A well-known security guard in Vancouver’s Chinatown who was attacked by a stranger while on the job said Sunday he’s grateful for the outpouring of support he’s received.
Harold Johnson is still recovering from his injuries after being assaulted on Aug. 12th in the community he’s patrolled for two decades. Bruising could be seen under both of the 64 year-old’s eyes as he stopped by the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese garden on Sunday.
“I’m still traumatized, but I’m going to come back to work,” he said. “I’m not giving up right away.”
Johnson was taking a picture near East Pender and Columbia streets just before the assault.
“He heard the the camera click,” Johnson said. “He dropped his bike. He started swinging and he kicked me twice in the face.”
Vancouver Police said the assault took place around 11 a.m., and added bystanders intervened, and witnesses called 911. A suspect was later arrested in Gastown.
Forty-four year-old Kevin Aaron Hibbard has been charged with assault.
'AN ATTACK ON HAROLD IS AN ATTACK ON CHINATOWN'
Johnson said he’s seen the area change, from a place he described as peaceful, to one in increasing turmoil. He and his wife Brandy, who is also a local shop owner, think he may have been targeted because of his job.
“I told him as he was going out the door, Watch your back, I have a feeling something’s going to happen,'” Brandy said, adding she was just arriving at her Keefer street store when she got the call.
“My heart was beating and of course rushed down to where he was…he was in a lot of pain, I could see that.”
Lorraine Lowe, executive director of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, said they have started an online fundraiser to support Johnson, who had been planning to retire next year.
“Harold’s a part of our family. He’s just an institution. So an attack on Harold is an attack on Chinatown,” she said. “I think what happened to Harold should be a wake-up call for everybody to stop ignoring the fact that there is a serious public safety issue here in Vancouver, not just in Chinatown, but downtown Vancouver.”
Brandy said she has also seen the area decline.
“The merchants are going to come back, and we’re taking it back,” she said. “This is our community.”
Johnson also shared his gratitude for everyone who has reached out with support.
“I want to thank all my merchants, my clients, my friends, my wife for supporting me,” he said.
“That’s all I want to say.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.