WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Police Service said a man used a hammer to attack a car and then smash the windows of a business in the city’s North End.
Around 6 p.m. on Wednesday, officers went to the area of Higgins Avenue and Main Street for the report of a man armed with a weapon.
Police said that moments before this, a suspect went to a business in the 1000 block of Main Street, where a female employee was sitting in her car in the parking lot.
Officers allege the suspect began to attack this car with a hammer, prompting a male employee to come outside and help.
Police said the suspect then chased both of the employees back into the building, where they locked themselves inside.
According to police, the suspect then began to smash the windows of the business, trying to get inside as the employees held the door closed.
The man then left the area and got on a bus. Police stopped this bus at Higgins Avenue and Main Street and found the suspect, who had a hammer on him, according to police.
“We believe that methamphetamine or alcohol was an underlying factor to this individual’s behaviour,” said Const. Dani McKinnon of the Winnipeg Police Service at a news conference on Thursday.
“Again, that’s just going to speak to the meth epidemic that is unfortunately amongst the city, it’s amongst the province, it’s nationwide.”
Winnipeg police noted that officers safely de-escalated the suspect’s “erratic” behaviour, and no one was hurt during the incident.
Police took the suspect, a 28-year-old man, into custody. He has been charged with two counts of assault with a weapon, two counts of mischief under $5,000, and two other breach-related charges. He has been released on an undertaking.
“The undertaking is a way to release somebody with a set of conditions with a future-forward court date and that’s what will be happening to this individual,” McKinnon said.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a surety attached to the undertaking, that’s not always the case."
She noted the reason police aren’t releasing the suspect’s name is because the information has not yet been sworn to before the courts.
None of the charges have been proven in court.
Police said there are no property damage estimates at this time.
IMPACT ON THE VICTIMS
McKinnon said she did not have any personal interactions with the victims, but she did read the report.
She said this type of situation is very impactful and scary for the victims.
“Somebody was just innocently sitting in their car. I would imagine due to the cold weather probably warming it up. It was 6 p.m., so again I’d imagine they were probably leaving work, probably sitting there turning the radio on,” she said.
“The last thing you’d expect is to have somebody attack your vehicle with a hammer,”
She added, to take it a step further, the victims tried to find safety inside the building, but the attack continued.
“I can’t imagine,” McKinnon said.
“It must have been quite terrifying.”
McKinnon added that this was a random, unprovoked situation.
“These things don’t happen often,” she said.
“I mean, we’re not up here every week reading about these random occurrences thankfully, and let’s just hope that it carries forward that way.”
