'It just feels so unreal:' UVic student talks about attack that left him with serious facial injuries

'It just feels so unreal'

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David was taken to the hospital, where he received a CT scan that found he’d suffered multiple fractures in the Jan. 22 attack. SUBMITTED

The University of Victoria international student left Thrifty Foods around 9:30 p.m. one night in late January, carrying a reusable tote bag full of his weekly groceries.

The biology graduate student from Beijing was walking on the north sidewalk of McKenzie Avenue and had left the lighted area of the Tuscany Village shopping complex when a man walking in the other direction bumped into him.

The man then pushed the student to the road and began making a sexually suggestive gesture with his hands and hips, said the student, who asked only to be referred to by his first name because he fears for his safety, since his attacker has never been found.

“I was shocked,” said David in an interview in Mandarin, the first time he’s spoken publicly about the incident.

David said he got back on the sidewalk and was trying to understand what was happening when the man started speaking to him in a mocking tone, saying words that he didn’t recognize, which sounded more Korean than English.

David said he considered taking his phone out to film the interaction, but was worried that it would escalate the situation.

But then the man started lunging at him and punching the air close to David’s face.

Afraid that if he turned and ran, he would be a more vulnerable target, David didn’t back away.

They stared each other down for five seconds before the man began attacking him, he said.

David recalled that he was still clutching his reusable cloth bag filled with fruits and a carton of milk when he fell to the ground, dazed by the blows.

His eyeglasses were pulverized, and all his valuables, including his phone and wallet, were scattered onto the sidewalk, he said.

It’s hard to remember what happened after, as he fell unconscious during the attack, he said, adding that the attacker may have punched him another two or three times while he was on the ground.

By the time he came to and sat up on the sidewalk, the attacker was gone.

None of David’s valuables were taken.

David called 911. Officers attended the scene but were unable to locate the attacker.

He was taken to the hospital, where he received a CT scan that found he’d suffered multiple head fractures in the Jan. 22 attack.

The attacker, who is still at large, is described as a white man in his late 20s or early 30s with short brown hair.

David said he needed orbital floor fracture surgery on his right eye because of his injuries.

While he was waiting to undergo facial surgery, his lab mates in the biology department sent him soups and congee, David said.

After surgery, he stayed at a university professor’s home to recover. “Because I’m an international student, I don’t have anyone here,” said David. “So it was fortunate that I met them.”

UVic also provided some emergency bursaries to help with medical expenses, he said.

Speaking by phone this week, David said he’s optimistic he will recover full vision, but still experiences bouts of dizziness whenever he tries to work on his thesis due to his concussion.

Saanich police said the circumstances of the assault remain under investigation.

A spokesperson told the Times Colonist that there is no clear indication that the incident was racially motivated.

Asked about the police statement, David said he’ll wait for the police investigation to be completed.

“Everything happened quickly, so I’m not clear on what happened,” he said. “He did start with mimicking an Asian accent and used racial language. But what his motive was, I don’t know.”

Whenever he goes out these days, David now watches passersby for any signs of aggression.

“It just feels so unreal … I’m still digesting what happened,” he said, adding that he’s likely still suppressing some of the details of the incident due to trauma.

He’s warning other international students to be alert when walking in the street, even in a “relatively safer” place like Gordon Head.

Because there might not always be people around and a lack of street lighting in suburban areas, it’s best to be careful, he said.