Man allegedly assaults UVic pro-Palestinian protesters, police investigating

The University of Victoria (UVic) says a man has been restricted from campus after assaulting members of the pro-Palestinian encampment.

UVic says that campus security and Saanich Police escorted the man off campus after the second incident on May 7, restricted him from re-entering the property and say the man is not affiliated with the university.

“We take the safety of our community very seriously,” UVic’s statement says. “The actions of this individual are completely unacceptable and the university will not tolerate assault or other criminal activity taking place on campus. The university has taken to steps to ensure that if the individual appears on campus again, they can be arrested.”

Saanich Police says it was informed of two incidents on May 7 and officers were called to the second incident, but not the first.

The incidents have prompted police to open an assault investigation.

On the PeoplesParkUVic account, which is run by members of the encampment, the protesters say there were three incidents that occurred on May 7 and 8.

The post says a man has come to the encampment every day since it was set up on May 1.

“…the assailant has been circling the student encampment every day since May 1st, often multiple times a day, typically shouting abusively and making anti-Palestinian comments,” the Instagram post says.

The post says the first incident occurred on May 7. The man is alleged to have entered the encampment and attacked people, injuring multiple students and one faculty member who tried to step in.

Two hours later, the second incident occurred, the post says. This time he is alleged to have punched some of the students, and was “threatening to kill students.” The protesters say the man claimed to have trained his three dogs to hurt people, and that he had let the dogs loose in the encampment.

The third incident occurred the next day, when a member of the encampment was walking onto campus and was allegedly assaulted by the man. The protesters say the injured member has several injuries including a concussion.

Following these incidents, the campers have seven calls to action for the university to address, including ensuring the assailant does not return to campus, notifying the campus community and wider public of the assaults so they are aware, and offering those who were injured a health and wellness check.

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