Manitoba police allege group yelled slurs at Black man before he was stabbed

BRANDON, Man. — Police say they have viewed video that shows suspects yelling racial slurs at a Black man at a skateboard park in Manitoba before punching, kicking and stabbing him.

Officers responded to reports of a fight in the park in Brandon, west of Winnipeg, on Thursday night. Police say witnesses described one man and four women, who appeared to be Indigenous, starting a fight with the Black man.

Police say the video shows the fight first breaking out between the victim and the male suspect. The four women then join in with punches and kicks.

“The victim defends himself, and is holding one of the suspects down when one of the women pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim five times in the side of his abdomen,” the Brandon Police Service said in a news release Friday.

“The altercation ends as the man walks away, bleeding from wounds on his side. The female with the knife also slashed the tires of the man’s vehicle before the stabbing occurred.”

The victim was taken to hospital by a bystander before police arrived. The man underwent emergency surgery and as of Friday morning was awake, alert and expected to make a full recovery.

Two of the female suspects are in custody. Police said one of them had blood on her clothing and a bloody knife in her pocket when she was arrested.

A 23-year-old woman from Brandon is charged with aggravated assault with a weapon, mischief to property under $5,000, public incitement to hatred and failing to comply with a release order.

A 20-year-old woman from Sioux Valley, Man., is charged with assault, public incitement of hatred, public mischief and failing to comply with a release order.

The two accused, who police say are related, were to appear in court Friday.

Investigators said they are looking for the other three suspects and further charges are pending.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2020

The Canadian Press