At 6 a.m. on a Cold Ontario Morning, a Stranger Stopped, Covered Two Sleepers and Walked On
A security camera on Richmond Street in London, Ont., recorded a passer-by laying two sweatshirts over a couple sleeping outside an empty storefront, patting them gently and leaving without a word. The building's owner sent the 11-second clip to CBC News to honor him.
Just News Desk, Correspondent||3 min read
LONDON, Ont. - It was 6 a.m. on Oct. 13, and a couple lay asleep, curled together on a dirty floor outside the upper level of an empty storefront on Richmond Street. A man in a red sweatshirt climbed the stairs, laid two sweatshirts over them, patted them four times on the back and walked away. They never woke up.
The moment lasted 11 seconds, and the only witness was a security camera. The building's owner, Umar Khan, later sent the footage to CBC News to commend the stranger, the public broadcaster reported on Oct. 26. The man has not been identified, and neither has the couple.
"What touched me about the video was seeing the gentleman offer his piece of clothing for the people who were sleeping outside in the cold," Muhammed Sajjad, the property manager for the building, told CBC News.
A Victorian storefront building on Richmond Row, the shopping stretch of Richmond Street in London, Ont., Sept. 21, 2014. Illustrative image of the street; it does not show the building, the people or the events in this story. Photo: WayneRay, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Source page: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Richmond_Row_London_05.JPG
What struck Mr. Sajjad most was the choice the man made in passing. "He did not have to stop," he said. "He could have simply walked past them, but instead he chose to help. The small act of kindness sends a powerful message that even when people are struggling, we should never lose our humanity."
He spoke, too, of the people under the sweatshirts. "We must remember that these are human beings," he said. "They are people who deserve dignity, compassion and respect."
Mr. Sajjad, who said he sees people sleeping near downtown businesses with increasing regularity, described the problem as one the whole city shares. "It's a community issue," he said, "and we all have a role to play."
Historic commercial buildings near Richmond and Dundas Streets in downtown London, Ont., 2008. Illustrative image of the area; it does not show the building, the people or the events in this story. Photo: WayneRay, released into the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Source page: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:London_Ontario_Richmond_St._005.JPG
The man in the red sweatshirt asked for nothing and, as far as anyone knows, has not come forward. By the time the couple woke, he was long gone. What remained was two sweatshirts against the cold, and a few seconds of tape that a building owner thought the city should see.
Source: CBC News London, Kate Dubinski, "Video of man helping homeless couple should inspire compassion and change, building manager says," Oct. 26, 2026: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/video-of-man-helping-homeless-couple-should-inspire-compassion-and-change-building-manager-says-9.7393537 ; CBC video "A simple act of kindness": https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.7393970 . All quotations are as published by CBC News. The security footage belongs to its owner and CBC and is not reproduced here. All images are illustrative, freely licensed photos from Wikimedia Commons; none shows the people, building or events in this story.
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