Niagara Regional Police are investigating a racist rant that was caught on camera during a Boxing Day parking spot dispute at a Niagara-on-the-Lake mall.

An Asian woman shot the one-minute video on Boxing Day and posted it to Facebook. The video begins with a middle-aged woman berating her, including to call her a "f—ing Chink."

When the argumentative woman is asked to stop, the woman instead mocks her and sings in a childlike voice "La-la-la-la-la" and then shows the middle finger.

She proceeds to punch at the woman with the cellphone. "You f—ing bitch, get out of here. You started it. She started it. She said, 'I don't know what a signal is.' … even in China they have signal lights."

The woman, who has not been identified, then moves forward and says, "You kick me? I'll take those f — ing glasses off your face and shove them through your …"

The blond woman then turns around, pulls up her coat and pantomimes mooning the woman.

The video doesn't show what sparked the incident, which took place in the parking lot at the popular Outlet Collection at Niagara mall on Taylor Road.

NRP spokeswoman Stephanie Sabourin said the Niagara Falls detachment was contacted about the incident on Boxing Day, and it is now in the hands of detectives.

"At this time, it remains under investigation," she said. "There are clearly elements to this incident which are concerning, and we will be able to provide more details shortly."

Carly Rupcic, the mall's marketing and tourism manager, said the woman who recorded the incident went to guest services before mall security took over. Security staff took her statement and decided to "escalate the complaint" to police.

"We don't know the details of what happened before the video, but I can't imagine any circumstances where it would be OK to speak to someone like that," Rupcic said.

She said the mall had heightened security on Boxing Day with paid duty police officers on-site and controlling traffic.

"If it wasn't busiest day we have ever had, it was one of them," Rupcic said. "There was a lot of traffic coming through the mall that day. Whatever happened, there is no excuse for that behaviour. We did what we could to manage the situation and help the complainant."

The woman with the cellphone told CHCH news that she wanted her name withheld for fear of retaliation. She said after pulling into the parking spot, she began filming when a woman threatened to scratch her car. It turned out the woman was also waiting for the spot, she said.

She said she emigrated from China seven years ago and that she has always felt welcome in Canada. She has since removed the video from Facebook, saying it was never her intention to have the woman attacked online.

At one point in the video, the apparent aggressor asks someone for her phone.

"I'm going to call 911. And I am going to tell them that she kicked me. You kicked me. I'm calling 911, and I'm going to have you charged … You just kicked me right here, bitch," she tells the Chinese woman.

Then she starts mimicking with gibberish in a mock Chinese accent.

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The Chinese woman's friend tells the lady to "chill" to which she responds, "Tell her to chill" and the video ends.

William.Sawchuk@niagaradailies.com

905-225-1630 | @bill_standard