Police issue warning after attacks along river trail
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/08/2021 (1235 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Winnipeg police are raising the alarm after a woman and teen were sexually assaulted Sunday in what investigators say are the latest in a string of attacks targeting women walking along the city’s Red River trail system.
Police say a teenage girl was walking along the river trail behind Churchill High school around 3:45 a.m. when a male grabbed her and sexually assaulted her. The victim was able to free herself and ran for help.
In a second attack, a woman in her 20s was jogging along the river trail near Harkness Avenue when a male came up from the riverbank and assaulted her. The woman screamed for help and escaped.
Investigators have identified about five similar assaults since April targeting victims from their mid-teens to late thirties, “but there may be more,” said police spokesman Const. Rob Carver.
In each case, victims were grabbed from behind while walking along the river trail, pulled down to the ground and threatened with a weapon.
“We aren’t able to definitively say if they are related… but from public perspective, we’ve got a series of alarming events with enough similarities we felt we needed to put out an advisory,” Carver said.
Police have not provided a physical description of a suspect.
“As we looked at these cases, there is some variability, …so at this point we are not able to provide much in terms of what a suspect might look like,” Carver said.
Police are warning the public to take precautions when using the trail, including walking or running with a partner, telling someone the route you are taking, avoiding poorly lit paths or walking or jogging at night, sticking to populated paths, carrying a cellphone or personal alarm device, and to run without headphones. If confronted, shout loudly for help.
“I’d probably look at avoiding the trail at the moment,” Carver said. “There are a thousand places to run in the city, so maybe not just that one right now.”
Anyone with information on the attacks is asked to call the Winnipeg Police Service’s sex crimes unit at 204-986-6245 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).
