Sikh teenager assaulted at Kelowna bus stop, RCMP say

Mounties in Kelowna are investigating an assault on a Sikh high school student at a bus stop in the city Monday afternoon.

Police were called to the intersection of Rutland Road South and Robson Road East shortly before 4 p.m. in response to a "pepper spray incident," according to a news release issued by Kelowna RCMP Wednesday.

"Officers determined a 17-year-old Sikh student was either bear or pepper sprayed by another teenage male after exiting a public transit bus on his way home," the statement reads.

Before the assault, there was "an altercation" aboard a bus, which resulted in those involved being kicked off, police said.

The RCMP statement does not go into detail about what happened on the bus, but a separate news release from the World Sikh Organization of Canada alleges that the student was also assaulted while aboard the vehicle.

"Two individuals approached the student and first barred his entry onto the bus and then, once allowing him to board, began to threaten him with a lighter and photograph and record him from a close distance with their phones," the organization's statement reads.

When the teenager turned away from his antagonists, the WSO alleges, they "began to kick and punch" him in view of the bus driver.

The organization is frustrated that the bus driver didn't intervene in the incident, and is calling for BC Transit to investigate the driver's response.

"Monday’s attack on a Sikh high school student in Kelowna is shocking and unacceptable," said Guntaas Kaur, WSO vice president for B.C., in the statement.

"What is incredibly disappointing is that the BC Transit bus driver did not intervene and in fact removed both the attackers and the victim from the bus, leaving the Sikh student to fend for himself."

Mounties said they have spoken to several witnesses and identified a teenage suspect in the case, adding that they are still collecting video evidence and "other relevant information, including taking steps to determine the motivation for this crime."

The WSO's statement indicates that the student is a newcomer to Canada who "did not understand why he was attacked or the slurs and insults that were shouted at him during the incident."

He's afraid of being attacked again if he returns to school, according to Kaur.

The World Sikh Organization also noted that this is the second time a Sikh student has been attacked in Kelowna this year, after 21-year-old Gagandeep Singh was swarmed and beaten in the city in March.