3 attacks in 30 minutes: A victim's warning for women in downtown Winnipeg

A Winnipeg woman is warning the public after she and two other women were assaultedwithin the span of 30 minutesa few blocks of each otherin the city's downtown on Tuesday morning.

"I felt fear, just fear for my life," said Amy, whose real name CBC News is concealing because her attacker hasn't been caught. "Fear was just flowing through me."

The 32-year-old's neck is in a brace, her head is bruised and she is feeling the effects of a concussion from an assault she never saw coming.

Amy said she had stepped outsidethe RBC Convention Centre's entrance on Carlton Street near York Avenue, before work at a conference, when a man approached herand asked for a cigarette.

She told him she didn't have one and he kept walking. He then came at her from behind, she said.

"I immediately felt a blow to the back of my neck," she said,"and two more blows to the back of my head. And I just [saw] stars."

After three hits to the head with his fists,Amy said shemanaged to stay on her feet and turn herself around to get a better look at him.

"I looked him straight in the face, straight in the eyes, and he just had this pure look of, I don't know, evil," she said, adding that he was calling her names and swearing.

Another man walking by came to her aid and intervened, and the attacker took off down York Avenue, she said. Police were called and she was taken to hospital where she was treated and released.

'No warning'

What's more disturbing, Amy said, is that the attack was unprovoked and she wasn't distracted that is, she was not on her phone or wearing headphones when it happened.

"This person looked like a completely normal person, just walking down the street," she said. "There was no warning signals that they were out of their mind or, you know, high or anything."

Winnipeg police saidthis incident was the third assault of this nature officers responded to that hour.

At 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, police were called to Osborne Street near River Avenue, wherea woman in her 50s was attacked by a man who took off, police said. She suffered minor injuries.

Then, at 7:45 a.m., police were called to Broadway near Edmonton Street. Another woman in her 50s was approached by a man and assaulted. He fled and she, too, sustained minor injuries, police said.

Amy was attacked around the block, near Carlton StreetatYork Avenue, just before 8 a.m.

"That just blows my mind," Amy said, when she learned of the other victims."It makes me sick to my stomach that somebody could do that."

Police saidthey believe believe the same person may be responsible for all three attacks.

Victim's warning for women in downtown Winnipeg

8 years ago

Duration 2:09

A Winnipeg woman is warning the public after she and two other women were assaulted within the span of 30 minutes, and a few blocks of each other, in the city's downtown on Tuesday morning.

"No question, there is a possibility this could be the same individual," Const. Jason Michalyshen told CBC News.

"We are doing everything we can to identify this individual and hold him accountable for his actionsif, in fact, he's involved in multiple incidents."

Michalyshen said it's unclear if the attacker was focusing on women or on certain situations. One of the attacks was unique in that the victim made contact with the suspect, who was sleeping in a lobby and became violent.

"It's concerning to us as it is to all members of the community," Michalyshen said.

He added that while people should be cautious and aware of their surroundings, they should not change their daily routines.

"This isn't something that we're seeing all the time," he said. "We don't necessarily have an individual who is running around assaulting individuals. We have three incidents, possibly linked."

Amy described her attacker as a man in his late 20s, approximately six feet tallwith a medium build and long blond hair. He was clean-cutandwearing blue jeans and a dark blue coat with a reflective stripe on it, she said.

On Thursday afternoon, Winnipegpolice released the same description for the person they believe may have been responsible for the three attacks.

Michalyshensaidpolicehave surveillance video of the assault near York Avenue and descriptions from witnesses.

Amy said she is grateful to be alive and can't thank the stranger enough for stepping in to help her. She hopes sharing her story will keep all Winnipeggers on alert.

"I'll be wearing a neck brace for a few weeks but I have nothing broken. I'm alive, I was able to come home to my kids," she said.

"Be very cautious this man is still out there and he may attack again, and that's what scares me."

Anyone with information about the attacks is asked to call police detectives at 204-986-6668.