2 charged following assaults at skateboard park

Two men face charges of robbery and assault after a series of attacks on young people using the skateboarding park at The Forks in Winnipeg Tuesday night.

A man with a crutch approached a 14-year-old boy at the park around 8 p.m. CT and asked him for a cigarette, police said Wednesday.

The boy told police that when he didn’t comply, the man hit him with the crutch.

The man was later joined by a friend, and the pair asked two other teens for cigarettes.

When they refused, they were also attacked, police said. One 17-year-old boy fell off his bicycle, which the men stole.

“Whether or not they were going to be able to actually get the cigarette from these particular individuals, I don’t know for sure, but obviously they had intentions to cause a disturbance in the area and injure individuals,” police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said.

A witness called police, who arrested two suspects at the park.

Two men, aged 28 and 22 , face several charges, including robbery and assault with a weapon. They are being held in custody.

Michalyshen said police have been called to The Forks 11 times since April to deal with reports of robberies, assaults and other disturbances.

From CBC