Abby pastor fears backlash against homeless after fatal school stabbing
Relations between homeless camps and the Abbotsford community have been tense in recent years
An Abbotsford pastor said he's worried the recent arrest of a homeless man in connection with Tuesday's fatal school stabbing will cause a backlash against the city's homeless population.
Ward Draper with the 5 and 2 Ministries said he's already seen threats on social media sites that he calls "scary."
"We've seen some talk in Abbotsford that's kind of alarming, talking about burning down campsite areas on social media," said Draper.
The pastor called Tuesday's attack — that left a 13 year old girl dead and another teen injured —"horrific" but said he's now concerned vulnerable members of the community will be targeted.
"This is going to reinforce a lot of very negative ideas that homeless can't be trusted and they're scary violent crazy people, when unfortunately that's really not the truth," said Draper.
Draper — who works with members of the homeless population — said homeless camps have been the target of violence in the past.
"We've had a history of violence in Abbotsford against homeless communities and I'm only worried that this might increase that."
Relations between the city's homeless and the community have been tense in recent years over issues related to campsites.
In 2013, the City of Abbotsford apologized for smearing chicken manure over a homeless campsite in an effort to drive homeless campers out.
The incident sparked a long-running dispute between the city and campers which ultimately landed in B.C. Supreme Court.
A random attack
The suspect in Tuesday's attack — Gabriel Klein — has no fixed address and police said he's been known to frequent the Vancouver area since earlier this year.
A spokesperson from Downtown Vancouver's Covenant House confirmed Klein spent time there.
Homicide investigators said Wednesday that the motive for the attack is still unclear and at this time it appears to be random.
Klein is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 13-year-old Letisha Reimer and aggravated assault in the stabbing of a 14-year-old girl.
Finding someone to blame
Draper's daughter was in lockdown at Abbotsford Middle school during the stabbing incident at Abbotsford Senior Secondary.
He said the attack has scarred the entire community and that he understands the need to blame someone for the incident.
But threats against the homeless, he said, are misguided.
"We need to find someone to attack and someone to lash out on. But... we need to find more compassion and mercy," said Draper.