Capt. Kenneth Kunkel, a commanding officer of the 826 Griffin Squadron Royal Canadian Air Cadets, was injured in an assault in Hamilton, Ont., on Nov. 1, 2026. Kunkel family photo
The son of a Canadian Armed Forces member left unable to move his legs after being assaulted last weekend is voicing concern about increasing youth violence in the southern Ontario city where his parents live.
Capt. Kenneth Kunkel, a commanding officer for the Royal Canadian Air Cadets, has had “no intentional movement” in his legs since being assaulted in Hamilton, Ont., on Nov. 1, the victim’s son, Christopher Kunkel, told The Epoch Times.
Hamilton police said the 59-year-old was supervising cadets outside a restaurant on Nov. 1 when two male youths allegedly approached and “blew a loud air horn directly into their ears.”
The boys ran into the restaurant and Capt. Kunkel followed them. A woman who had not been involved in the dispute caused the squadron leader to fall to the ground where he was struck several times by one of the youths, police alleged.
“Our family’s understanding is that my father intervened to protect his cadets and de-escalate the situation,” Kunkel said in a statement. “Those young people were giving their time to honour veterans and help their community. They deserved to be safe, and so did the person responsible for their wellbeing.”
The 12-year-old has been charged with assault and aggravated assault and a 48-year-old female suspect has been charged with aggravated assault in connection with Kunkel’s injuries, police said.
Canadian law protects the youth’s identity, and the adult’s identity has also been withheld because revealing it could identify the youth.
Kunkel told The Epoch Times during a phone interview that his father’s assault has sparked conversations throughout the community about youth violence, which he described as a growing concern in the Hamilton region.
He characterized the issue as twofold: a rising level of youth violence and a lack of respect for veterans and serving members of the military and the cadet corp.
“We need to confront youth violence and take the safety of cadets and community volunteers seriously,” he said.
The Epoch Times contacted the Hamilton Police Service for comment on youth violence in the city, but didn’t hear back by deadline.
Kunkel said the alleged actions of the youth charged in his father’s assault “defies words.”
“Unless we’re actually addressing what potentially is the root cause of all of this, I’m pretty darn worried that my dad’s not going to be the last person who’s going to have their life changed,” he said.
Kunkel said his father remains in hospital, where he will be for some time, as he undergoes intensive rehabilitation after receiving emergency spinal surgery. His father’s long-term recovery remains uncertain, he said.
“He remains incapable of walking … and can’t even sit up unassisted,” Kunkel said, adding his dad still has use of his arms and is well cognitively, although he is still in a “severe amount of pain.”
(L-R) Christopher Kunkel, parents Shelly and Kenneth Kunkel, and sister Kimberly Dietrich and her husband, Tylor Dietrich, in a family photo. Submitted photo
Outpouring of Support
Kunkel said he and his family have been heartened by the support from the community and beyond, noting that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Hamilton East-Stoney Creek MP Ned Kuruc made his dad’s story known nationally when they posted about it on social media earlier this week.
Poilievre said in a Nov. 3 post that he was “disgusted” by the “brutal attack” on Capt. Kunkel.
“He was helping young Canadians honour those who served. He should have gone home safely to his family,” Poilievre said in a social media post. “No child should fear violence while selling a poppy. No Canadian should be brutalized for standing up for them. Those responsible for this cowardly attack must face the full consequences of the law.”
Kuruc, a Tory MP, shared details of the assault while addressing the House of Commons on Nov. 4, calling the assault “heartbreaking and completely unacceptable.”
Despite the outpouring of concern for his family, Kunkel emphasized that broader issues must be addressed beyond his father’s injury.
“My father has always been a very selfless man,” he added. “He wouldn’t want the focus to just be on himself.”
Kunkel said he and his family have been concerned about youth violence for some time and he believes inappropriate social media content plays a role.
Kunkel, who is the father of an 11-year-old and a 7-year-old, said he thinks content on some social media sites “incentivizes” kids to behave badly. He pointed to the prank culture existing on some platforms that glorifies inappropriate behaviour and malicious pranks, similar to blowing an air horn in someone’s ear.
“They see that these people are getting hundreds of thousands of views … and they believe that this is what humor is,” he said, adding that he is hopeful Canada will soon implement its social media ban for youth under 16.
The government’s Safe Social Media Act, which proposes a minimum age requirement of 16 to hold social media accounts, is currently before Parliament. Also known as Bill C-34, the legislation currently faces upcoming committee studies and Senate review after passing second reading in late October.
‘The Life He Loves’
Kunkel said his father remains “as determined as ever” despite losing his mobility. He said the coming months will be difficult for his mother, his sister, him and their families as they focus on supporting Capt. Kunkel’s recovery so he can return to “the life he loves.”
For Capt. Kunkel, that means being a family man, running his business, and serving his community. His son described him as an “active” grandfather who walked his four grandchildren around the neighbourhood for Halloween the night before his assault.
His father also owns an IT business that is now impacted by his inability to do the physical side of the job, which includes laying down network cabling.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up by a close friend to help the family with expenses during the months while Capt. Kunkel is unable to work. It had raised nearly $210,000 by the afternoon of Nov. 6.
Aside from his family and work, Kunkel said his father is passionate about volunteering. He began working with cadet organizations 20 years ago, and joined the reserve forces not long after to become an officer in the Cadet Instructor Cadre, a specialized branch of commissioned officers within the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Reserve Force.
“This isn’t just a volunteer thing for him. He found his calling,” Kunkel said. “And he took that responsibility seriously.”
Even as he grew older, Capt. Kunkel would train weeks before his squadron’s physical-activity nights so he could participate alongside the cadets “and be a good role model,” his son said.
He noted that many of his father’s cadets went on to have careers in the military, police services, and the RCMP.
Kunkel—who is a veteran himself—said he is hopeful that what happened to his dad will shine a light on the importance of the cadets and the military.
“I think that our country has been losing touch with something that always made us so proud,” he said. “So, this Remembrance Day, I pray that people go to their cenotaph and give a moment of silence for these heroes, since it seems that the younger generations, and apparently some adults have forgotten the importance of paying their respects.”