Kelowna News

Police say it’s too early to tell if the assaults are related.

Kelowna RCMP are investigating a second unprovoked attack in the Rutland area and are asking anyone with information to come forward.

The first assault was against on a 53-year-old man who was walking on a pathway near Highway 33 towards Petch Road in Rutland on July 13 around 7:30 p.m. when he passed a group of three young men.

“Once he passed by the males, one of them turned and jumped on him, causing him to fall to the ground. The victim hit his face on the ground and when he got up, the suspects were no longer on scene,” says Constable Julie Rattee.

She says the victim suffered a broken jaw which required surgery and several days stay in the hospital.

“The suspects are described as three Caucasian males aged 15-20 years. One male was described to be approximately 5’9”, wearing a white t-shirt with blue horizontal stripes.”

The second assault was against a homeless man in Centennial Park on July 19.

Rattee says the man was assaulted by a large group of youth as he slept on bench in Centennial Park.

The man suffered a bruised and swollen face as well as a cut which required several stitches in his head. He says the group was made up of at least two young women and between four and six young men.

It’s been reported a second homeless man was assaulted during the Centennial Park attack, but police have not been able to locate him in order to get information about his attackers.

No description of any of the individuals in that assault are available, but it is believed they were all in their late teens.

“It’s too early to speculate on if these attacks are related in anyway. We do urge everyone to take care when walking alone at night,” says Rattee.

Anyone with information on either of these assaults can contact the RCMP or Crime Stoppers.

Link: Teens attack homeless man