Two suspects at large after man randomly beaten, stabbed

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This article was published 15/07/2025 (390 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man says he’s lucky to be alive after being stabbed and beaten in what police believe was a random attack in a Fort Garry apartment parking lot over the weekend.

The victim, who asked not to be identified due to safety concerns, was helping a friend change a headlight in the parking lot of the Georgetown Apartments, on the 1600 block of Pembina Highway, on Sunday evening, when two strangers approached them.

“We heard them coming,” the 26-year-old man said from his bed in the emergency room at Health Sciences Centre on Tuesday afternoon. “Cars were honking — I think they had been jaywalking — and they were banging on people’s windows.”

He said they tried to ignore the commotion and didn’t expect the individuals to enter the apartment complex. The two passed by the entrance to the lot but doubled back.

“They were murmuring something, something like, ‘That’s the guy, that’s the guy. I thought they might ask for a lighter or something,” the victim said.

Instead, the two males demanded the victim and his friend hand over their wallets. When the victim said he didn’t have one, one of the suspects tried to grab his phone. As he instinctively pulled the phone away, the second suspect put him in a chokehold and took him to the ground.

“I was struggling, trying to hit them and get off, and that was the first time they stabbed me,” he said.

The man said the attacker who had the knife urged the other suspect to flee, but then the suspect who had tackled him came back.

“It looked like they were intoxicated or on drugs. I was able to stand up and grab a pair of pliers to scare them away, but the guy still charged me. I was able to hit him a couple of more times. Then the guy with the knife came back at me,” the victim said.

He was stabbed two more times before he managed to escape toward the front entrance of the apartment building, where he was attacked again.

“I was able to defend myself that time. I got a fair amount of a beating,” he said.

Another resident who was coming out of the parking lot spotted the injured man and drove him to Victoria Hospital. He was later transferred to Health Sciences Centre, where he remains in recovery.

Despite the encounter, the victim said he was in good spirits afterward and even joked with officers and hospital staff.

“I was making jokes, even though I was having a hard time breathing. It was my first visit to a hospital as a patient since I arrived in Canada four years ago,” he said.

“I was like, I already got stabbed, you think I care about getting stapled?”

Doctors told him they were going to staple his wounds and that it would probably hurt.

“I was like, I already got stabbed, you think I care about getting stapled?” he said.

During the beating, he wasn’t scared and had the instinct to survive.

“The adrenaline rush was crazy. I feel lucky that nothing worse happened to me or my friend. I felt I had to protect her.”

The victim said he spoke to his parents in India to reassure them.

“I called my dad right away, letting him know not to worry. I told him I was OK, stable and my vitals were fine,” he said.

Several of his friends went to the hospital in the middle of the night to be by his side.

“I’m lucky to have them. They stayed with me, taking turns taking care of me,” he said.

Winnipeg police said Tuesday the two suspects remain at large.

The first male is described as about 17 to 27 years old, 5-4 to 5-6 in height, with long, dark, curly hair. He was wearing a tank top, red shorts and a gold chain. The second male is described as being in his 20s, about 5-9 tall with a medium to large build. He was wearing dark shorts and a dark hoodie with the hood up.

“If your spidey sense is tingling, follow your gut and get out of there as fast as you can.”

Const. Stephen Spencer acknowledged there have been disturbing random attacks in recent weeks and urged the public to stay alert and trust their instincts.

“The best thing to do is get the most attention from other people that you can, get the attention of a passerby to discourage the attacker from continuing their attack, and make a commotion,” he said.

“If your spidey sense is tingling, follow your gut and get out of there as fast as you can.”

Police are reviewing security footage from the area, but that process can take time before a full picture of the incident is established, Spencer said.

Anyone who saw the incident or has related video is asked to contact the major crimes unit at 204-986-6219, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477 (TIPS).

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca