Police seek witnesses after senior punches teen who threw food in Tim Hortons

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Screengrab from a video by witness Isaac Campbell.

Saanich police are looking for witnesses to an incident at a Tim Hortons where a senior is seen on a viral video throwing punches at a male youth who allegedly threw food at his wife.

A video of the late-April incident at the coffee shop in Saanich Plaza attracted millions of views over the past few days, after it was posted online.

In the footage, the senior hits the youth several times as he sits in a booth with three females.

As the man steps back, another patron steps in and appears to play peacemaker, before a third man comes forward and slaps the youth.

Police said the incident, which occurred across the street from their Saanich headquarters, was reported to them only recently.

An investigation will determine if any of the actions seen in the video meet the threshold of criminality, Saanich police Insp. Damian Kowalewich said Monday.

Kowalewich cautioned that the video shows only a portion of the event. “Right now we do have an active investigation into that situation trying to determine what happened throughout the entire event.”

He said police have so far spoken to one person who was involved in the incident, and don’t yet have the full picture. “At this point we’re playing catch up.”

He said Saanich police don’t condone anybody “taking matters into their own hands” and don’t endorse violence.

“We know the close proximity of that coffee shop to our police station,” Kowalewich said. “We always encourage folks to call us if something’s going on.”

Witness Isaac Campbell, who shot the video, told CHEK News that before the punching incident, the youth had been throwing food at everyone in the restaurant — including him.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Saanich police at 250-475-4321.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Isaac Campbell (@isaacampbell)