Winnipeg police are investigating a brutal assault on a man who says he was trying to help a homeless man.
Doug Thomas said he was at a drive-thru restaurant around 1:30 a.m. Saturday when he saw a homeless man being harassed, then assaulted by two young men at a bus shelter on Portage Avenue.
“They were kicking him and kicking him, and at that point my wife screamed, and I just instinctively jumped out of the car and ran there,” said Thomas outside Misericordia Health Centre Saturday afternoon where he’s being treated.
Thomas said when he went to move the two young men away from the homeless man, when one of them started punching his head and using nails on his eyes\.
He’s now recovering from a serious and painful eye injury that requires plastic surgery.
Thomas said his tear duct is torn and he has scratches on his eye, but a CT scan showed his eye ball is still intact.
"His nails went straight into my eye and tore my eye lid, so my eye lid is all torn, it's hanging out,” Thomas said.
He’s also nursing bruises on his head and hand.
Winnipeg police say detectives are working on the case. They say the investigation is still in the early stages and no one has been arrested.
Thomas wants the suspects caught.
He said if he had to go back, he'd step in to help the homeless man all over again.
“If that was me, and someone was kicking me like that, I would want someone to intervene. I would do it all over again, I don't regret it at all,” he said.
Thomas said when he got up from the assault the two suspects took off.
He said the homeless man was standing and had some scratches, but he didn't appear to be seriously injured.
