A Kelowna priest is recovering in hospital after he was grabbed by the neck and viciously attacked inside a Sikh temple.
The incident, which the vice-president of the temple does not believe is a hate crime, started just after 9 a.m. today (June 10) when a man grabbed a woman in the parking lot off Rutland Road.
Vice-president Paramjit Patara tells Glacier Media the stranger twisted the woman’s arm and then came into the temple.
“He walked into our building because it is open early in the morning and anyone can come in. It is a public building, he just walked in here and started ranting and raving,” he said.
Patara says the man was banging erratically on the dining room tables and wouldn’t stop.
“He grabbed one of our priests by the neck and started choking him,” said Patara. “He got hit in the face and was almost unconscious ... if there was no one else here, he could have died.”
Other people inside the temple surrounded the suspect and had to tie him up to prevent him from being violent.
They then called RCMP and waited for them to respond to the temple.
“It’s not a hate crime. This could have happened to anybody,” said Patara. “It is the responsibility of the RCMP to get this person off the street.”
Glacier Media has reached out to RCMP about the incident and to find out if charges have been laid.
Patara hopes the man will be held responsible for his actions.
- Alanna Kelly, Castanet
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