Man hit with machete during bicycle robbery: Winnipeg police

A man in his 40s was hospitalized after he was hit with a machete during what police describe as a concerning robbery in Winnipeg’s Weston area.

The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) said it is believed the 48-year-old man had been in the 300 block of Blake Street sometime shortly before 5 a.m. on Saturday when he was approached by an unknown man armed with a machete.

Police said the suspect demanded the man’s bicycle and personal property. Though the man gave it up, police allege the suspect hit him with the machete and then fled.

The man then made his way to a home in the 600 block of Stella Avenue where police were called shortly after 5 a.m. Responding officers gave emergency medical care to the man, including using a chest seal, before he was taken to hospital in unstable condition.

The man has since been upgraded to stable. Police do not believe the suspect knew the victim before the robbery.

Const. Jay Murray, a public information officer with the WPS, said the nature of the robbery is concerning.

“We respond to many stabbings every day - there are about six a day that are suspected, and unfortunately machetes are often a weapon that are used in these assaults,” he said, adding police always suggest giving up your property if you are in a robbery.

“Your property is not worth your life.

“What is really unusual here is that even after giving up the property the victim was still struck with the machete after,” Murray said. “It is very concerning for us and that is one of the reasons we released on this incident and are encouraging anyone that has any information to come forward.”

The WPS major crimes unit is now investigating. Anyone with information is asked to call 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477.