Some people living in the Garden City area are in shock and fear after a pair of violent incidents including a home invasion.
“I encountered the suspect myself, face-to-face,” Oahn Phan told Global News.
Phan is new to the area and says just before lunch Monday, she heard a knock on her back door on Wood Crest Drive.
“There was this man standing there, shades on, black mask covering his face and it looked like he was holding a Sobeys bag. He was waving at me to open the door,” she says.
“I was shaking my head, like ‘I’m not opening the door’ right! He didn’t look familiar, I don’t know him and he’s standing at my back door, which is kind of weird.”
She says the man then walked across the street and into her neighbour’s house. Moments later she heard police sirens.
“We were watching from the window, the whole commotion, the cops were trying to get in, kicked the door down, and then my neighbour was taken to the hospital.”
Winnipeg police say a man in the home was assaulted and remains in critical condition in hospital.
The wife of the homeowner, who is a senior, was distraught but told reporters her husband was attacked with a hammer. Winnipeg police have not confirmed those details.
Meanwhile, a few doors down, another homeowner for whom Global News is using only a first name for safety reasons, said her house was also broken into just one day before the attack.
“He started coming towards me and saying ‘this is my house; this is my uncle’s house, leave the property or I’m calling the cops,'” Kathy told Global News.
She was in her backyard at the time and managed to run to a neighbour’s house to call police.
“While we were talking to officers, he walked out of the house went to the back and went to my car,” she said, adding the man then drove off in her car.
Winnipeg police say their investigation revealed this intruder was the same man accused in the violent attack on her neighbour Monday.
“I’m in disbelief that this happened, I guess I’m still in shock,” Kathy said. “The street is normally so quiet, you don’t see anybody walking other than with their dogs.”
Police arrested the 30-year-old suspect and placed him in custody. He’s been charged with multiple offenses.
Councillor for the ward in Old Kildonan, Devi Sharma, calls the incident ‘alarming.’
“No one wants to experience violence in any neighborhood in our city. I will continue to support funding to the Winnipeg Police Service and support Neighborhood Watch and community patrol groups. A multi-pronged approach is important to tackle these issues,” said Sharma in a statement to Global News.