Four pro-Palestinian demonstrators were charged with assault after beating pro-Israel counter-protesters at a rally for Gaza in Calgary last month.

Aziz Mohammed Madi, 18, is charged with two counts of assault, 27-year-old Arlsan Khan is facing one count of assault, 18-year-old Kamaal Maxamud Jaamac is facing a single charge of assault, and a 16-year-old who can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is also facing one count of assault. The four men are scheduled to appear in court Sept. 15 and 16.

On July 18, hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters gathered outside Calgary’s City Hall. Judy Shapiro, associate executive director of the Calgary Jewish Federation, who attended the rally as an observer, said violence erupted when a group of less than 10 pro-Israel demonstrators were swarmed by pro-Palestinians who were protesting the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

She said one person suffered a concussion, another was punched in the face, another suffered a broken nose, and a woman was punched in the stomach.

Calgary Police Service spokesperson Kevin Brookwell, who spoke to The CJN last month, said police weren’t on the scene until the confrontation was over.

“To sum it up, we dropped the ball… A simple thing like an email was missed… which means that the officers who were supposed to be assigned to that event were not there, but there were other officers close by that were able to respond quickly,” Brookwell said.

During a press conference, Calgary police Insp. Cliff O’Brien explained it took about a month to lay charges in this case because of its complexity.

“Some of the still photographs we’ve seen that are readily available on social media… if you look at one particular it looks like an individual is punching a victim,” he said, adding that upon further investigation, it was determined that the photo actually captured a good samaritan who was coming to the victim’s defence.

“There were a lot of people to talk to, a lot of images and video to go through, and it took a long time to do that,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien also called on the public to help identify a man they believe may have information that could assist with the investigation.

He is described as having an olive skin tone, dark hair, a slim build, and an accent. He was wearing a white T-shirt, and had white paint stains on his hands.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call police or Crime Stoppers.