Police in Surrey, B.C., say they are investigating after an eight-year-old boy was allegedly assaulted while in a carnival attraction on Khalsa Day last month.
Officers arrived at a gurdwara in the 12800 block of 85 Avenue around 5 p.m. PT on April 19 after receiving a report of an assault, according to a news release from the Surrey Police Service (SPS) Friday.
Police said they determined a young boy had been assaulted by two adult males in a haunted house set up in the parking lot for Khalsa Day festivities.
“The child escaped from the males and fled outside to inform his family. The child suffered injuries to his neck which required treatment at a hospital,” SPS said in the release.
The men fled the area, according to SPS media liaison Ian MacDonald.
“This would have been a traumatic incident for anyone, but for an eight-year-old boy, particularly so,” he said.
“Both he and his family are still dealing with the repercussions from this assault.”
Carnival staff are not believed to be involved in the alleged assaults and the owner-operator of the carnival is co-operating with police, according to SPS.
Police have identified two suspects, who they describe as South Asian adult males.
“This has been a challenging investigation,” MacDonald said. “As you might understand, the bulk of the individuals who were inside of [the haunted house], because it was a carnival attraction, were children.”
“So we’ve been interviewing children, we’ve been talking to some of the parents and families who were outside.”
Investigators are asking for additional witnesses and other potential victims to contact police.
Anyone who was in the area and has photos or video of the haunted house between 4 and 5 p.m. PT on April 19 is also asked to call SPS’s non-emergency line.
The SPS major crime unit and special victims team has taken over the investigation.