Boy faces surgery after Canada Day altercation in Summerside park

An 11-year-old boy faces surgery after reports he was assaulted in a Summerside, P.E.I., park while wearing an orange shirt to honour survivors of residential schools.

Kingston Gallant was playing basketball with some friends at Leger Park, July 1.

Kingston, who is Mi'kmaw, was wearing an "Every Child Matters" orange T-shirt that day.

There, he says another boy directed a racist comment at one of his friends.

"I heard him call one of my friends the N-word and a few minutes later he called me that, so I went up to him and said, like, 'Don't say that'," said Kingston.

Kingston said the other boy pushed him, then hit him in the face three times.

"Of all days it had to be that day," said Kingston. "The day I was commemorating my ancestors. It hurts."

One of his friends called Kingston's mother, Tara-Lynn Rioux. She said when she arrived, Kingston's T-shirt was covered with blood. She called police.

Surgery to repair fracture

Rioux said Kingston has a broken nose and will undergo surgery Thursday to repair it.

Rioux said her son's attacker is 13 or 14, and she has provided the name to police.

There's an education piece that needs to happen-Tara-Lynn Rioux

"I want to see that child dealt with," she said. "The law is there. There is a juvenile act for a reason and these situations need to to be known that they're not OK.

"I also really think that there's an education piece that needs to happen, education for that individual."

Rioux said the boy who attacked her son likely doesn't understand the historical context of the racist slur he used, or the significance of the orange T-shirt.

Since the incident, Rioux said she has received a lot of messages of support from the community, which she has shared with Kingston.

"They've really been helping me a lot," he said.

Summerside police are continuing their investigation into the complaint.

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