On May 15, 2024, the National Post reported:
A 14-year-old Israeli-Canadian girl attending a high school in New Brunswick has told Canadian Jewish News that she was assaulted last month by another student for being Jewish.
Shaked Tsurkan said she was attacked by an older female schoolmate at Leo Hayes High School in Fredericton. The alleged assault occurred during lunch hours at a parking lot away from school grounds.
A video of the alleged assault posted on social media shows a female student running up to Tsurkan from behind, dragging her to the ground and punching her repeatedly in front of several bystanders. The two get into a scuffle until an adult comes over after about a minute and breaks up the fight.
Tsurkan was left with black eyes and multiple cuts, scratches and bruises.
Tsurkan said the assailant was suspended from school for five days. When the student returned, Tsurkan was advised to use the teacher’s washroom, to stay inside the school building during the day and not to walk alone, she said.
“I want the school to know (what happened is) not OK,” she said. “(The school) is still saying it’s my fault that I went outside.”
“They’re blaming me about what happened,” she added.
Tsurkan moved to Fredericton from Israel in Nov. 2022 with her family and began Grade 9 a few weeks before the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
She said her alleged attacker treated her in a hostile manner for two months, which culminated in the attack on April 30. Tsurkan said she was trying to avoid a confrontation with the older student that day, but as she away from her, she was accosted and threatened by the student.
On May 17, 2024, the Fredericton Police Force published the following update:
The Fredericton Police Force has made an arrest in connection with an incident that occurred on April 30, 2024. A 16-year-old female from Fredericton was taken into custody following a reported altercation between two female youth on Cliffe St.
As per the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), the individual has since been released on conditions, and charges are currently pending. The investigation into this matter is ongoing […]
File #24-9310