Winnipeg police have charged a 30-year-old man in connection with an attack that left a teenage boy with what police say are life-altering injuries after he was hit in the head with a hammer late last month.
The 15-year-old victim was rushed to hospital in critical condition after officers found him on the sidewalk on Selkirk Avenue with serious head trauma around 11:30 a.m. on May 30.
Police said Monday the teen had been waiting for food at a nearby restaurant when he was approached by the suspect, who started talking with him and showed him a firearm he had in his backpack.
Police say the victim got his food and was walking away when he was assaulted with the hammer.
Police spokesperson Const. Jay Murray said investigators haven’t been able to figure out what motivated the attack, which he says left the victim with “catastrophic” injuries.
“It’s incredible that this wasn’t a homicide,” he said.
“There’s a lot of questions that we simply don’t have answers to.”
Murray said the 15-year-old remains in hospital.
After releasing a photo of a person of interest in the case last week, police announced an arrest Monday.
Murray said Jerry Robert Kipling, 30, was arrested Sunday afternoon near Austin Street North and Pritchard Avenue. He said the suspect had a knife and a hatchet at the time of his arrest.
Kipling is charged with a number of charges including aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.
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