Man, teen arrested after attacks near U of M’s Fort Garry campus

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This article was published 24/05/2018 (2157 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Police arrested a man and a teenage boy after brazen, daytime attacks on and around the University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry campus Thursday, which police say were fuelled by drugs and alcohol.

Police say a 45-year-old man returned to his vehicle in a parking lot at Chancellor Matheson Road and University Crescent at about 2:40 p.m. and found his tires had been slashed and his vehicle had been entered. He found two males nearby going through property stolen from his vehicle. When he confronted them and asked for his property to be returned, a scuffle took place.

One of the suspects produced a knife and attempted to slash the victim, police said. The two suspects fled and the victim retrieved his wallet.

The suspects allegedly went to a vehicle parked on nearby Tulane Bay, which had been reported stolen Wednesday from the 1800 block of Pembina Highway. The vehicle was recovered by police but the suspects were no longer present, police said.

At about 6:30 p.m. Thursday, police responded to a report of a 30-year-old man being stabbed in the upper body in the 100 block of Ulster Street. While providing first aid to the victim, officers were advised by witnesses that the suspects were nearby, police said.

After a short foot pursuit, officers arrested two males, both with blood on their clothing, police said.

During an investigation, officers were told that the victim confronted the two males who were causing a disturbance outside and asked them to move along because there were children in the area.

One of the suspects produced a pocket knife and attacked the victim, who fell to the ground. The victim was stabbed in the upper body by one male, while the second male jumped on the victim.

A woman tried to intervene, but the attacker with the knife turned his attention to her. She and the victim were chased by the attackers but managed to get to safety.

“(The victim) is fine,” said Winnipeg police Const. Tammy Skrabek. “I don’t know if he attended the hospital to get treatment or not, but he wasn’t seriously injured.”

The suspects were identified as being responsible for the robbery reported earlier, police said.

Batista Nikola Sanderson, 24, and a 14-year-old male, who cannot be identified because he is a youth, face several charges, including assault with a weapon. Both accused are from Winnipeg.

“I can tell you that both drugs and alcohol contributed to the events,” Skrabek said.

A University of Manitoba spokesman said the Thursday afternoon incident at one of its parking lots was out of the ordinary.

“Our parking lots are relatively safe” and the U of M works to maintain that, said John Danakas, adding its security services patrol the parking lots and there are call stations around the campus with direct lines to security.

He said the U of M offers a 24-7 Safe Walk service at both the Fort Garry and Bannatyne campuses. Students, staff and visitors at the university can request a security services officer accompany them from one location to another, to their vehicle or to the bus stop on university property.

“People are always reminded to be aware of their surroundings,” Danakas said.