Saskatoon father thankful for support after son a victim of alleged racist attack

Since coming to Canada 30 years ago as a university student, Nelson Chen say he has never experienced the intolerance his son endured Friday afternoon in the city.

“I’ve never been subjected to something like this before,” Chen said. “Every time my kids went out to play, I never thought they would be unsafe.”

In a Facebook post Friday, Chen wrote his 15-year-old son was the victim of a racist attack when he encountered a man while riding his bike through Bishop James P. Mahoney Park.

A video that his son filmed of his alleged attacker has been shared over 3,000 times.

Chen opened up about the incident on Gormley on Monday, saying his son is doing much better.

“He’s almost his own normal self,” Chen said. “He’s doing the things that he loves to do, so far so good.”

According to Chen, the man shouted racial slurs at his son and accused him of “spreading the virus.” Chen said his son was pushed off his bike and punched.

Police said they have identified the man, but have not laid charges with the investigation still ongoing.

For Chen, the “shocking” incident doesn’t reflect the community where he has raised his family. He prefers to focus on the hundreds of letters of support and encouragement that have poured in since Friday.

“It’s very very heartwarming for us. We spent the last two days literally reading messages and I’ve tried to respond to every one of them,” said Chen.

“What happened on Friday is not going to change our mind about how see Canada, the city. This is our home. It’s always going to be our home.”

At this afternoon’s meeting of city council, Mayor Charlie Clark acknowledged the incident.

“This is very unacceptable in our community. Targeted attacks on any groups cannot be tolerated and now more than ever we need to work together and support each other because we’re all in this fight together against the virus, and the way we’re going to win this is by building networks of support,” said Clark. “There have been so many acts of kindness and collaboration across our city and these are the values that need to define our response to this crisis, so my condolences go out to that family member and I know the police are investigating this incident as well.”

-With files from Brent Bosker