In a shocking incident, a woman was violently attacked in Canada’s Calgary train station platform as the bystanders watched in silence. The video of the assault surfaced on social media and has been widely shared online, sparking outrage as no one seemed to help the woman, who appears to be of Indian origin.

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According to Calgary’s City News Everywhere, the incident happened on Sunday (Mar 23) around 1:40 pm at the City Hall/Bow Valley College CTrain Station in Calgary. Reportedly, the man grabbed the woman’s water bottle and splashed water on her face. He then shook her violently and slammed her into the walls of the transit shelter. The attacker fled the scene without her phone, following which the woman called the police.

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According to police, the man identified as Braydon Joseph James French, 31, was arrested about 25 minutes later with the help of witnesses. He was charged with one count of attempted robbery.

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Social media outrage

The footage showed that while several people gathered nearby nobody stepped in to stop the attacker or help the woman, sparking outrage and accusations of racism on social media due to her ethnicity.

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An Instagram page, The Canadian Punjabi, shared the video with the caption, “This happened in Calgary! Why didn’t anyone help her?”

The comments section of the video was filled with outrage.

“Shame on the people who are just seeing,” a user wrote. 

“Funny the whole conversation would be to deport if it was the other way around. How about whoever does the crime, does the time. Fair on both ends,” another user said.

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A person warned, “Indians chasing life in Canada should watch videos like this before deciding to go there.”

Some people also defended the people nearby saying, “Look closer, they did help her, that’s the reason he walked away.”

“Sadly if people intervene they end up getting in trouble. I once stopped a person targeting an old man and when the police got there I was the one who was being told I should’ve stood to the side and just called the police,” a user shared their experience.

Police release statement on incident

In a statement on social media, Calgary Police said the man was arrested.

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“Thanks to the support of witnesses in the area & to the swift actions of our members, we were able to make an arrest within 25 minutes of this incident,” said Calgary Police Service District 1 Inspector Jason Bobrowich. “These types of incidents cause concern in the community & will not be tolerated in our city.”

The police also said that they don’t believe the attack to be racially motivated. “However, their Diversity Resource Team is engaging with those in the community who are impacted by this incident,” the statement added.

The victim was offered support and is respectfully asking for privacy, the police said.

(With inputs from agencies)