Abbotsford Police are crediting local residents with helping them nab a man believed to be responsible for the unprovoked racially motivated assault of a 63-year-old man.
The 29-year-old suspect was arrested Wednesday night in connection to the assault that occurred April 26 in the area of Old Yale Road and Mitchell Street, near Fishtrap Creek Park.
At that time, a group of four Indo-Canadian men were sitting on benches when they were approached by a Caucasian man who yelled obscenities and derogatory ethnic comments.
He produced a liquor bottle and struck one of the men in the face with it, knocking the victim to the ground. The culprit then fled on foot westbound on Dehavilland Drive.
Const. Ian MacDonald said a police canvass of the area turned up several people who reported having previously heard racial slurs from a person matching the suspect's description.
In the days that followed, some neighbours took photos of the man when they saw him out in public, and gave them to police.
The man was confirmed as being the suspect in the liquor-bottle attack and has been living for the last few months in an area not far from the assault, MacDonald said.
Daronne Malcome Dobni, who has no previous criminal record, has been charged with assault with a weapon and could be facing further charges related to hate crime.
MacDonald said police are also looking into whether the suspect was involved in a recent incident in which a man was screaming and yelling at Ellwood Plaza, located at the corner of Old Yale and Townline roads.