On his first day of volunteering at Elwick Community Centre, Ron Roccola and his son spent their time teaching archery to young kids.
When the class finished late in the evening on Tuesday, Oct. 9, Roccola helped pack up the archery gear and bring it to the back shed.
That’s when the 85-year-old said two men appeared and demanded his phone and wallet.
Roccola said the men attacked him when he refused, kicking him when he was down and even threatening him with bear spray.
“I got a bruised tail bone and a bruised hip where they were kicking me. Other than that, I’m fine,” he said.
According to Roccola, his son broke up the attack, and his grandson called for help.
That’s when he said the suspects fled the scene.
Winnipeg police are investigating the incident.
Roccola says he hasn’t yet spoken to any police officers about the alleged incident but his son has.
“I’m not looking to get any boys in trouble. I wouldn’t press any charges. It’s just a very unfortunate thing that happened,” Roccola added.
He added that he won’t let this assault faze him and he’ll be back out there next Tuesday volunteering with the kids.
“It’s not going to stop me from doing what I do, but from now on when we go from the school to the community centre, we’ll go in teams of three. No one goes alone,” said Roccola.
No arrests have been made.