Victim of Kelowna bus stop assault thankful for outpouring of support

Photo: Cindy White

Crowd gathered at scene of assault in Kelowna.

A GoFundMe campaign for the victim of a brutal assault late Friday night in Kelowna has been closed following an overwhelming amount of support.

Gagandeep Singh, 21, suffered numerous injuries after he was attacked and beaten by a group of people after exiting a city bus.

The fundraising campaign, established just two days ago to help with his recovery, was closed Tuesday after surpassing $22,000 in donations.

Organizers of the campaign say due to the "extraordinary" number of people who have donated to support Gagandeep's recovery, the GoFundMe campaign will no longer accept new donations.

"The last few days have been very difficult for me. I am at home resting and recovering from the attack," Gagandeep Singh said in a statement provided to Castanet.

"I really appreciate the support across Canada from everyone. The comments in the GoFundMe page and the outpouring of support has reminded me why I came to Canada.

"Thank you for your donations over the last two days, they are above and beyond what I ever imagined."

Singh is an international student who has been in Kelowna for only a year.

The attack has been condemned by Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola MP Dan Albas and Kelowna-Mission MLA Renee Merrifield.

I’m sick to my stomach to hear what happened to this young man. I hope the RCMP bring swift arrests and charges for what was a disgusting racist attack.

This is not what our community should stand for. https://t.co/s7hyBayszo #bcpoli #kelowna

— Renee Merrifield (@ReneeMerrifiel3) March 19, 2023

Albas rose in the House of Commons calling the perpetrators "low lifes" and calling the incident "a hate crime committed by cowards who should be punished severely.”

The RCMP announced Tuesday morning the BC Hate Crimes team has been brought into the investigation.