A rainbow crosswalk near Holland Park in Surrey was vandalized over the weekend, leaving city crews to power-wash off the spray-painted graffiti that 2SLGBTQ+ advocacy group Surrey Pride B.C. is calling an “act of hate.”
In a video posted on social media on Saturday, a group of three men are seen spray-painting black lines over the sidewalk painted with the Intersex-Inclusive Pride flag colours.
In a Facebook post, Surrey Pride B.C. said it is aware of the incident.
“This is an act of hate and has been reported to the police and Mayor’s office,” said the post.
(Amrit Birring/Facebook)
Surrey Police Service (SPS) said officers were contacted before 4 p.m. PT Saturday.
“There was a small protest taking place in the area and black paint was apparently sprayed on a Pride-themed crosswalk,” said Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton in a statement.
Police have identified three “persons of interest,” according to Houghton.
He said SPS has notified the hate crime unit of the incident but added it is premature to determine whether it is a hate crime.
Amrit Birring posted the video showing him and two other men spray-painting the crosswalk.
Birring is the leader of the Freedom Party of B.C. He has run for various political positions in Surrey, including for MLA in the Surrey-Newton riding in 2024. He received 371 votes, representing 2.4 per cent of the vote, in that election.
The Freedom Party, according to its website, has a platform to stop SOGI 123, provincial education resources on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The crosswalk in Surrey has been defaced before. Just 10 days after it was installed in 2018, white paint was splattered over it.