Well, the Calgary woman attacked by a machete-wielding youth now knows what it’s like to be a “victim of hate.”She white. She’s 62 years old. In an exclusive interview with The Western Standard, the victim — who requested anonymity — recalled her experience after a vicious and unprovoked attack at the Calgary Zoo Lights festival, of all places. She’s not bitter or angry. Just saddened at the level of fear and loathing in what is supposed to be a joyous time of year. “Hate has to stop from all races and ethnicities. That’s already a problem in our country. There’s already so much hate and division around that. There doesn’t need to be more,” she said..“He was yelling and screaming ‘F**k white power’ and he was waving something in his hand. He was acting very crazy.”Zoo Lights victim.She just wanted to attend the Zoo Lights event with her husband.But they ran into a “skinny” guy screaming “F**K white power” while waving “something in his hand” that she couldn’t make out because it was already dark at 6:30 p.m.He was swinging a machete.Several vehicles were damaged. She was the only one he injured during his hunt.The pain from the bruise on her lower back that was caused by being hit hard with the machete on Dec. 26 lingers. So does the emotional aftershock that stalks victims, just like her attacker did in the north parking lot of Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo.Police arrested a 17-year-old who was allegedly in a crazed, drug-fuelled rage. The law says the youth can’t be named.And his victim doesn’t want to be, so the Western Standard which was provided a copy of her statement to Calgary Police Service, will respect her wishes.When she posted since-deleted comments on Twitter (“X”) trying to clear up a couple of facts about her attacker — mainly that he wasn’t an immigrant like people assumed, she was victimized again, this time with angry hate messages calling her a liar.“I’m having a hard time emotionally right now. I'm especially troubled reading all the hate filled comments on social media regarding this being an attack by an immigrant.” “My assailant is an indigenous youth. He was high on drugs or alcohol, or both, and behaving in a crazed manner. He needs help and I sincerely hope he gets it.”The couple was walking south toward the sidewalk that would take them down to the Zoo transit entrance. They were assaulted within four minutes of arriving..“He was so close to me. I was at the nose of that car. I started running like crazy. I could feel him behind me. I bent my head down and put my hands over my head and continued to run.”.“As we were walking to the sidewalk, I did see this fellow and his sister. He was yelling and screaming ‘F**k white power’ and he was waving something in his hand. He was acting very crazy.”“We were probably 15 feet away from him and his sister. As we started to get closer, his sister turned around and put her arms up and stopped us. She said ‘Don’t go forward. I don’t want him to hurt you.”“His sister tried to help… She tried to stop us when we got on the sidewalk… She said, ‘don’t go past me’.”The couple did stop.“He turned around and started running toward us.” They ran between parked cars, her husband between one set while she ran behind another row.“We never said a word to our assailant before he attacked us. We think maybe he went after me because I was the smaller person, and I am a woman and I happen to be white. So is my husband.”He smashed the hood of one car she was crouching beside with something hard.“He was so close to me. I was at the nose of that car. I started running like crazy. I could feel him behind me. I bent my head down and put my hands over my head and continued to run.”.“But he was pretty powerful because he was superhuman and high on whatever he was on. She said he was drunk. I said he was on something else.”.Not fast enough.“He got me in the back. I was hit on my lower back, by what I believe was the butt end of the knife. My jacket was sliced I think because that’s the way the knife came down.”“It felt like I was hit with something heavy.”Police said it was a machete.“Luckily, I was running. Because I was running and didn’t stop, I didn’t get stabbed. “My husband rushed to my defence and pulled the man away from me. Both him and the man fell to the ground and my husband had him pinned down for a second. But the woman pushed him away and yelled ‘get off my brother!’”“But he was pretty powerful because he was superhuman and high on whatever he was on. She said he was drunk. I said he was on something else.”On a call to 911, she was asked what race the attacker was.“I told them. I’m 100% sure he was an indigenous youth.”.“If my saying something about it can make a difference to people, and we to wake up and start paying attention to each other, and care more about each other we won’t be in this mess. We’re in a terrible mess.”.But that’s not the point.“My views around mass immigration are that it’s not working for us as a country, but that’s neither here nor there with this.”“The compassion is gone from people. I get it. We’ve been lied to for a long time about so many things and we have a terrible, terrible federal government.”Problems must be addressed with honesty, she said. Not preconceived bias that because a machete was involved, an immigrant was to blame. No wrong accusations.“To me, the hate and division being sown by mainstream media, and how people jump to conclusions, isn’t going to help our country, isn’t going to help us as citizens,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion.“If my saying something about it can make a difference to people, and we to wake up and start paying attention to each other, and care more about each other we won’t be in this mess. We’re in a terrible mess.”.“I know this will heal and I'm hoping the emotional fragility I feel will also heal in time.” .People must step back and ask why something like this happened, she said. When in fact, it happens almost every day somewhere in this supposedly peaceful kingdom.“This young man, maybe his life is sh*t and maybe all he’s been fed is terrible stuff about indigenous people and what white people have done to them. Who knows?”She only has praise for CPS.“Sgt. Dave Tanner, who was at the scene and took my statement was a pillar of calm and compassion in dealing with me. Victim services were awesome. The police were there right away.”CPS dispatched to the scene after receiving several 911 calls from shocked onlookers.The accused was arrested on the Memorial Drive bridge. It is believed the suspect was intoxicated by drugs and alcohol at the time. He cannot be named under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act and will appear in court on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. But still, she doesn’t blame him.“I blame mainstream media and all levels of government for the horrible, hate-filled world we live in now,” said the victim of the attack.“I know this will heal and I'm hoping the emotional fragility I feel will also heal in time.” The suspect has been charged with two counts of assault with a weapon, three counts of mischief to property and three counts of breach of release conditions.
