Kelowna

An unprovoked attack on a homeless man has police searching for a group of teenagers.

Kelowna RCMP received a call of an assault which allegedly happened Friday night in Centennial Park.

Constable Julie Rattee says a 55-year-old man was sleeping on a bench in Centennial Park in Rutland around midnight when he was assaulted by a group of about six teenagers.

“The assault, which appears to be unprovoked, left the victim with a bruised and swollen face, and several stitches in the head. He was treated at Kelowna General Hospital for his injuries prior to reporting the incident to police,” says Rattee.

She says they have received information that a second homeless man was also assaulted by the same group during this incident, although investigators have yet to speak with that victim.

“Right now we are focusing on identifying the group of teenagers responsible for the assaults. Because the man was asleep when they approached him and it was dark, he didn’t get a good look at the group, but he’s sure at least two of the attackers were female and about four or five were young men.”

Rattee says once they have some suspects in mind, they will show their photos to the man to see if he can identify them.

“We want to talk to anyone who may have seen the group of teens entering or leaving Centennial Park around midnight Friday.”

She says anyone wishing to give information anonymously can contact Crime Stoppers.

This is not the first unprovoked attack on Kelowna’s homeless over the last year. Back in November, a pair of homeless people were attacked by a group of young men who threw paint on them as they slept.

Link: Paint attackers admit guilt