HUNTER: Alleged attack on Hamilton cadet supervisor by boy, 12, woman, 48, the new Canada
· Toronto Sun
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On Aug. 19, 1942, 200 Hamilton men were slaughtered on the beaches of Dieppe in France in an ill-fated commando raid.
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They were among the 900 Canadians massacred on those rocky beaches that terrible day.
But, the pain was felt most acutely in Hamilton. The losses of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry were the most of any single regiment in our nation’s long, bloody history.
Brutal assault left man with life-altering injuries
That was a Canada of honour and courage, things that a 48-year-old Hamilton woman and a poorly raised 12-year-old boy do not have.
On Sunday, cops arrested the boy and a woman named Estela Quintanilla after a brutal assault inside the Mandarin restaurant at The Centre on Barton mall in the city’s east end. The object of their attack was a 59-year-old Canadian Armed Forces member who was supervising air cadets as part of the annual poppy drive.
Cops say the victim was left with life-altering injuries. For what?
Result? Life-altering injuries
What triggered the incident was the feral behaviour of two youths — aged 11 and 12 — who, cops said, blew a loud air horn directly into the cadets’ ears. The cadets’ supervisor followed the pair into the Mandarin to confront them
A struggle broke out and that’s when Quintanilla allegedly knocked the feet out from under the man, jumping in the fray to take her pound of flesh. Cops say she battered the man and when he was on the ground, the 12-year-old began kicking him.
Result? Life-altering injuries.
Bob Lively is president of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 58 on Barton St. E. The Legion is across the street from where the attack occurred and it’s where the kids mustered before heading out to push poppies.
“They’re nice kids, respectful,” Lively told the Toronto Sun , adding that 20 kids hit the streets on Sunday. Normally, the cadets go out for a couple hours, have lunch at the Legion, then turn in their boxes at the end of the day.
“In all the years I’ve been with the Legion I have never heard of anything like this happening,” the Stelco retiree said. “That kid in the attack, no doubt he’s been poorly raised. It’s important to have kids doing something like cadets or sports. Something bigger than themselves.”
‘We’ve gone too easy on the kids’
He added: “What happened Sunday is part of a broader problem in society. What are parents teaching their kids. This was unbelievable. We’ve gone too easy on the kids.”
Of course, Lively is correct. That narrative plays out every single day in this country. It’s consequence-free hellraising. Why not be cruel-hearted? You’ll go into court where a judge aided and abetted by the system will clearly state: The young attacker is really the victim here, get with the program, huh.
There is little doubt we will be hearing from the 12-year-old again at some point in the future. The crimes will escalate and probably continue until the boy is either in prison or toe-tagged in the morgue. He is charged with assault and aggravated assault.
But what to make of Estela Quintanilla? Did she think the kid was being snatched by the man in a military uniform? That only holds water for 30 seconds. Not only did she allegedly trip the man, she is accused of joining in the beatdown.
And here we are. My daughter was in air cadets and loved it and might have made the RCAF her career if not for my ex-wife pushing her into, uh, social justice. That’s another story.
Cadets made her strong, resourceful, and confident. It taught her service, duty and honour.
On an August day 84 years ago on the beaches of France, a lot of frightened young men also knew something about service, duty and honour. The Hamilton cadets were honouring that sacrifice.
The 12-year-old wild child? It’s unlikely he’ll ever get it and for that matter, neither will his alleged adult accomplice.
On X: @HunterTOSun
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