Winnipeg police are looking for a suspect in connection with a Sunday evening attack on a girl police described as middle-school aged in St. James-Assiniboia, near the Grace Hospital.
Police said the incident took place between 7:45 and 8 p.m. on July 24, when the girl was walking with her service dog on Meadowlark Place toward Athlone Drive.
A man approached her and grabbed her arm, police said, pulling her toward the street and kicking the dog in the body.
The victim was able to punch the suspect and break free, screaming loud enough to alert her nearby mother, who found the girl and brought her to safety while the man ran away toward the hospital.
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The girl only received minor injuries from the assault and didn’t need medical attention.
Police are looking for a man around six feet tall with an average build and purple discolouration under his eye. At the time of the incident, he was wearing black pants with white stripes down the sides, black shoes with white or grey soles, and a black jacket with grey and white on the sleeves.
He was also wearing a black balaclava and a mask covering his mouth area.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Child Investigations Unit at 204-986-3296.