Trio attacked with bear spray at The Forks

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This article was published 24/07/2022 (885 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 17-year-old male has been arrested after three people, including a 12-year-old, were assaulted with bear repellent spray at The Forks Sunday — the latest violence at the popular downtown gathering space.

Officers responded to the riverside grounds at about 5:45 p.m. for a reported assault, finding three people suffering after being sprayed with an unknown substance, the Winnipeg Police Service said Monday.

Officers chased and arrested one suspect.

A 12-year-old boy, 15-year-old girl and 18-year-old woman were taken to hospital for treatment and released.

Police believe three suspects approached the trio, who they didn’t know, and attacked them unprovoked with what they later determined was bear spray.

The 17-year-old has been charged with three counts of assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon and two counts of fail to comply with a probation order. Two other suspects remain at large.

Last week, two men and a youth were arrested for the stabbing of a refugee from Ukraine at The Forks on Canada Day — one of three violent attacks at the public space within five days.

Two men from Ukraine were walking near the Canadian Museum for Human Rights when they accidentally bumped into a group of three males July 1, at about 10:40 p.m. Despite apologizing, both were bear sprayed and a 22-year-old suffered a life-threatening stab wound, police said at the time.

A witness who assisted the men at the scene and later visited them in hospital said they had arrived in Canada two weeks earlier, fleeing the war in their home country.

On June 27, a father and daughter were attacked by three teenage girls in an attempted mugging. Police quickly arrested the suspects and all were facing robbery-related charges.

Two days later, two men were stabbed at about 12:30 a.m., following an altercation, police said at the time. One 15-year-old girl was facing charges of possessing a weapon and carrying a concealed weapon; a second 15-year-old girl was facing charges of assault, possessing a weapon, carrying a concealed weapon and breaching a court order; and an 18-year-old man was facing two charges of assault with a weapon.

In May, Kyle James Craik, 27, died after he was assaulted in the parkade on the grounds. Police had not yet announced an arrest in his slaying.

Following the late June assaults, The Forks officials decided to increase the size of its internal security team and request additional resources from the WPS and non-profit Downtown Community Safety Partnership, Clare MacKay, vice-president of strategic initiatives, said at the time.

Those heightened measures remain in place, The Forks communications specialist Jenna Khan said Monday.

“Visitors to The Forks will have noticed expanded on-site foot patrols, bike patrols, and vehicle patrols. We have also met with the Winnipeg Police Service and Downtown Community Safety Partnership to strengthen those relationships and discuss best practices for working together on safety in our downtown,” she said.

“Our security team is working closely with Winnipeg police in their investigation into (Sunday’s) incident.”

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera