A teenage boy who is a newcomer to Canada was beaten unconscious with a baseball bat while being robbed alongside his mother earlier this month.
The Free Press has learned the pair are Ukrainians who arrived in Winnipeg very recently.
The incident happened on the 900 block of McCalman Avenue in the East Elmwood area at about 5:45 p.m. on Aug. 3, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Monday. Officers found a 14-year-old boy who had suffered serious upper body injuries and his mother, who suffered lesser injuries.
The boy was transported to the hospital in unstable condition, while his mother, who is in her 30s, was transported in stable condition. The youth has since been listed in serious condition until he was upgraded to stable, the WPS said.
After speaking with the mother, police learned the two were walking home near Kent Road and Nairn Avenue when they were confronted by two suspects asking for money. When they refused, they were assaulted with a baseball bat and robbed of personal property, including a cellphone. The suspects ran away.
“The incident was determined to be random, as the victims and suspects did not know each other,” the WPS said.
Two Winnipeg men were arrested in the 1600 block of Regent Avenue West.
Donovan Kane Tray Kipling, 26, is charged with assault causing bodily harm, assault, uttering threats, robbery and mischief under $5,000.
Dawson Marcus Keeper, 27, is charged with robbery. He was also arrested for failing to comply with conditions of a release order. Both men were detained in custody.
fpcity@freepress.mb.ca