No arrests in ‘heinous’ attack on woman

WINNIPEG – No arrests have been made in the attack on a woman who was left bleeding on a Winnipeg street Thursday, saying she was beaten on the head with a hammer.

Drivers were shocked to see a woman “covered in blood” on an East Kildonan street during rush hour.

“This is a heinous attack,” said Winnipeg police Const. Eric Hofley said Friday. “The early investigation shows the assault happened inside a vehicle and the woman was dumped in a back lane.”

In an interview Saturday, Hofley said no arrests have been made and investigators had not passed along any descriptions of the suspects or vehicle involved. There was no update on the condition of the victim, who police had said went to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Robert Emes, who lives on Kimberley Avenue, said he saw a woman in a gold Pontiac Grand Prix yelling for help.

“I saw a car drive down the street with a girl hanging out, yelling ‘Help me, help me,’ ” Emes said.

Donna Emes, his wife, ran after the car. She said she heard someone in the vehicle yell “Punch it!” after the woman was dumped.

Julie Moncrief said she was driving down Henderson Highway when she saw a woman “covered in blood” going in and out of traffic.

Moncrief pulled over and waited with a few other bystanders for police and paramedics to arrive.

The woman, who identified her attackers by name, told the bystanders she’d been robbed.

When paramedics arrived, she told them she’d been hit eight times with the sharp side of a hammer, Moncrief said.

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Other witnesses said the vehicle the woman was in drove off down Kimberley then north on Brazier Street.

Police were later seen gathering evidence in the parking lot of the Safeway at Henderson and Kimberley.

The Winnipeg Police Service initially had no information about the attack, saying it wasn’t serious, but Hofley said investigators have since changed their view.