Attack victim’s roommate says Osborne Village must be made safer

A week after a woman in her 20s was repeatedly stabbed and robbed outside her Osborne Village apartment, her roommate says she feels nervous while out in the neighbourhood and safety measures must be bolstered.

Nividha Sharma, 23, said her sense of safety was shattered after the June 23 attack on her friend Tanpreet, who doesn’t want her last name disclosed.

She now looks over her shoulder whenever she rides the bus or stands at a stop.

“I don’t feel safe anymore to just walk around to get an ice cream or anything in the area,” said Sharma. “I feel like I should be home by 6 p.m.”

Sharma, who has lived in Osborne Village with Tanpreet for two years, said there aren’t enough security cameras and police foot patrols.

She said Roslyn Road, which is where their apartment is located, doesn’t have enough street lights and she is frightened to walk alone.

Tanpreet had finished her shift at Tim Hortons and was walking from a bus stop to her apartment around midnight, when she was jumped from behind. She was stabbed several times, including in her left eye, and her cellphone was stolen. Police have charged a 17-year-old girl with robbery, aggravated assault and seven counts of breaching a release order. The teen is being held in custody. Other suspects are being sought.

Sharma was returning home from a party nearly 20 minutes after the ambush when she saw “so many” police cars parked outside the building. Two police officers were waiting outside her apartment door.

“As soon as I saw the police, my body started shivering.” said Sharma. “I didn’t know I would be the first one to hear that news.”

Tanpreet was already taken to hospital when Sharma spoke with police, but she went to see her the next morning. She recalls Tanpreet repeatedly saying, “I was almost home.”

“That was so heartbreaking to hear,” said Sharma. “Just being across the street, thinking that you’re almost home, you’re going to rest and then have a good sleep after a tiring day, but then this happens.”

After the attack, Sharma didn’t return to her apartment for three days and stayed with her cousin because she was scared. When she walked down the road and returned to her apartment, her legs began shaking uncontrollably with each step, she said.

She’s thought about moving to a different neighbourhood, but said the convenience of living so close to buses makes that a difficult decision.

Tanpreet has a work permit and her parents and siblings are all in India; it’s difficult for her to be so far from them, Sharma said.

“She’s very strong-hearted. She knows what she has to do in life. She had dreams when she came to Canada,”she said.

She said Tanpreet is in stable condition in hospital.

Reuben Garang, director of Immigration Partnership Winnipeg, a non-profit that helps connect newcomers and refugees with resources, said such incidents stoke fear in the immigrant population.

“People come here for a better life,” he said. “When a newcomer is affected like this, it creates more fear within the newcomer community. Nobody wants to see that happen to themselves or their relative.”

He said when immigrants come to Winnipeg, there’s fear and uncertainty about starting a new life. When a tragic incident happens, it increases their anxiety about living in a new city.

Garang said underlying issues such as addictions and mental health issues must be addressed.

matthew.frank@freepress.mb.ca