Several Winnipeg children were left shaken after a machete-wielding man randomly approached them while they played in a field across from an inner-city drop-in centre Saturday night.
Justine Carandang, program and operations manager at Rossbrook House, said the incident happened when about eight kids were waiting to get rides home from staff, after spending time in the facility at Ross Avenue and Sherbrook Street.
“They said they were shaken up, but they are completely fine now,” said Carandang, who spoke to the children Sunday. “I’m sure it affects them in ways they don’t understand yet.”
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
The field across from Rossbrook House where children were approached by a machete-wielding man Saturday.
City police said the suspect was swinging the machete in the air when he approached the children at about 7:30 p.m.
Carandang said the armed man went toward a 12-year-old girl, prompting a boy in the group to step forward.
“He came up to see what was going on, and I guess that was enough to warn off the (suspect) a little bit,” she said. “It was random. This kid was much older than our kids.”
Carandang said the children ran back to Rossbrook House to alert staff, who locked the doors and called police as per the drop-in centre’s policy.
General patrol and tactical support team officers responded to the area. A suspect was arrested and a machete seized in the 600 block of Pacific Avenue nearby, said police.
Officers spoke to the girl, who was not physically injured.
Bronxton Strong, 18, is charged with assault with a weapon. He was held in custody.
“This is a random encounter,” said Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Claude Chancy. “The victim felt fear she was going to suffer injury at the hands of the accused, which still forms basis for the assault charge.”
Carandang said incidents like this are rare for Rossbrook House and the children who make use of its facilities, many of whom play in the field while waiting for rides home at night.
“I guess is it was kind of wrong place, wrong time,” she said. “The kids were just doing what they usually do — playing in the field.”
Carandang said violence appears to have increased in the wider neighbourhood, which she attributed to an “uptick in drugs and alcohol.”
Saturday’s incident is one of several involving a machete or knife in Winnipeg in recent days.
Police said a 32-year-old woman was Tasered and arrested by officers, after she waved a hunting-style knife in a threatening manner near Selkirk Avenue and Salter Street on Saturday afternoon.
“It appears the accused approached and chased several individuals while brandishing a knife, prompting several reports to police,” said Chancy.
“Officers found the suspect still waving the knife in the air, and a conducted energy weapon was utilized to gain compliance and safely place her in handcuffs.”
No injuries were reported.
Community safety activist Mitch Bourbonniere, a social worker who helps at-risk youth, was alarmed by the incidents.
“It’s very worrisome to me, because these incidents are random and unprovoked,” he said. “It puts everybody at danger — the public and even the (armed) person themselves.”
Police released details Monday of two other recent incidents.
A 36-year-old man allegedly tried to stab officers responding to a break-in at a home in the 1100 block of Alfred Avenue on Sunday.
A 17-year-old girl allegedly struck a 15-year-old boy and 18-year-old man with a machete near a school in the 100 block of St. Mary’s Road on Oct. 16.
The Manitoba government recently tabled a bill that would restrict the sale of long-bladed knives, machetes and swords to people over 18 with photo identification.
Stores would be required to securely store the weapons to prevent theft, and keep retail sales records for at least two years.
chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca
Chris Kitching
Reporter
Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.
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