The Forks attack victims were Ukrainian refugees new to Winnipeg
CBC
Two young men who just recently fled the war in Ukraine to find a better life in Winnipeg were the victims of a violent attack at The Forks on Canada Day, according to a couple who came to their aid.
"It's something I've never experienced in my life before — something you see on TV. And when you see it in person, it's just absolutely shocking," Julya Zan said in an interview with CBC on Sunday.
Zan, 26, and her husband, Jorge Torres, 32, were out driving with a friend around 10:30 p.m. Friday when they came across the immediate aftermath of the attack, which she said left a 22-year-old man with a stab wound in his neck and his 23-year-old friend hit by pepper spray.
"He was screaming out that he needs help. Like, 'I need help. I need help,' said Torres.
The knife was still stuck in the man's neck, Torres said.
Winnipeg police and The Forks officials have confirmed that one man was stabbed and another pepper-sprayed. Police have said little else about the attack and have not announced if any arrests had been made.
They said Saturday that the Major Crimes unit was still investigating.
The incident marked the latest in a series of violent crimes at The Forks over a few days' time.
The 22-hectare site in downtown Winnipeg, located at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, is billed as a destination and meeting place and is widely frequented by tourists.
Police said a father and daughter were attacked in a parking lot in an attempted robbery on June 27, and two men were stabbed outside the main market building early June 29. In May, a man died after being stabbed in a parkade on the grounds.
On Friday night, Zan, who came to Canada from Ukraine in 2010, was able to translate, as neither man spoke much English.
"I'm just telling him like, breathe, … trying to get him to keep talking," said Torres. "He's like, 'I'm going to die … I'm dying.' That's what he's saying. And he's pretty much laying in a pool of his blood at this point."
Torres said they were told the men had been crossing the street when they brushed shoulders with three males. When the Ukrainian men turned to apologize, they were attacked and the assailants ran off, Torres said.
Zan, Torres and their friend happened upon them about a minute later, Torres estimates.
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