Racism Incident at Peterborough Mall: Man Charged After Viral Videos
An 18-year-old man from Kawartha Lakes is facing charges for uttering threats following a disturbing racism-related incident in the parking lot of Lansdowne Place Mall in Peterborough. The incident, which occurred on Tuesday, July 29th, sparked a police investigation after the victims shared videos of the harassment on social media.
Peterborough police initiated their investigation on Friday, August 8th, after receiving a formal report. The victims, identified as a man and woman of southeast Indian ethnicity, posted several videos documenting the incident on platforms like the Peterborough Shares Facebook group on August 6th. These videos quickly went viral, drawing widespread condemnation.
Details of the Incident
According to the victims' account and the videos, they were subjected to harassment by three young white men in a large white pickup truck. The truck was parked directly in front of their vehicle at the mall. The male victim stated, “I and my partner are still traumatized, and I am posting so that it does not happen to someone else, and we want justice.”
The videos depict one of the men exiting the truck and approaching the victims' vehicle. He then proceeds to “hump” the side mirror on the driver's side while staring directly at the male victim, who was recording the encounter on his phone.
Verbal Abuse and Racial Slurs
In one particularly disturbing exchange, the male victim approaches the truck and asks, “Why did you approach like that?” The passenger in the front seat responds, “Because you’re black.” The driver then attempts to negate the statement by saying “No” to the passenger. The third man, who had previously humped the side mirror, can be heard saying, “Shut up, big nose” and using racial slurs against the victim, including repeatedly calling him a “fucking immigrant” and a “stupid n****r.” He also claimed that it wasn't illegal to hump a vehicle and asked the victim, “Did I touch you?”
The Peterborough police are continuing their investigation, and the accused is expected to appear in court to answer to the charges. The incident has reignited discussions about racism and discrimination in the community and the importance of holding perpetrators accountable.
- Victims shared videos on social media.
- Incident involved racial slurs and harassment.
- Police investigation is ongoing.