Richmond RCMP said it is “vigorously investigating” the homophobic road rage incident which was caught on video last week.
The Richmond News reported on Friday how two young women were subjected to disgusting verbal abuse in a shopping centre parking lot by a young female driver.
According to the couple – who didn’t want to be identified – the tirade kicked off Thursday evening in the Broadmoor Shopping Centre at Williams and No. 3 roads.
In the video, the female aggressor can be heard shouting homophobic abuse at the couple, along with a racial slur, which wrongly identified one of the victim’s ethnicity.
During the abuse, the suspect got out of her silver SUV and tried to open the door of the couple’s car.
Police investigation
A spokesperson for Richmond RCMP, Cpl. Dennis Hwang, said in a statement that the “incident is believed to have arisen from a low speed near collision between the complainant and the driver of another vehicle.
“The complainant and their passenger locked themselves in their vehicle after being subjected to verbally abusive language.
“The occupants of one vehicle remained while the other left the scene prior to police arrival. Police swiftly located the vehicle and identified the occupants. The Richmond RCMP is vigorously investigating this incident.”
One of the couple, Melissa (name changed), told the News on Friday morning that the unprovoked attack started when she and her partner, Courtney (also name changed), were driving through the parking lot after getting groceries at FreshCo.
She said they honked their horn at someone reversing out of the parking space, as the driver didn’t seem to notice them.
Melissa, explaining how the other driver knew she was in a relationship with another woman, thinks that they were spotted holding hands in the supermarket.
After the incident, she said she and her girlfriend’s hearts were racing and the pair later went through a gamut of emotions, from anger to crying.
She said she’s never experienced anything like it in the 10 years she has lived in Richmond.
