Sister of teenager who was attacked with a machete says 'it's a miracle he's alive'
CBC
The stepsister of a 15-year-old who was attacked with a machete on Saturday evening says "it's a miracle he's alive," after he spent 20 hours in surgery fighting for his life.
The teenager has two broken arms with cuts down to his bones, a skull fracture, slashes to his face and back and had to have at least one completely severed finger reattached, said his sister, who CBC is not naming to protect the youth's identity under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
"He is completely stable. He is talking. He's in much better spirits than you'd actually imagine for this kind of situation," the teen's sister said Tuesday.
"He is on strict bed rest currently and will be for quite a few more days," she said, adding that he will need further reconstructive surgeries in the future.
The teenager was walking with a group of friends on Selkirk Avenue, near Aikins Street in Winnipeg around 11 p.m. on Saturday when they stopped to help a woman who appeared to be in distress.
The woman started screaming at the group saying "she had friends that would beat them up," so they left her alone and continued walking, the sister said. Shortly after, the group was approached by two people who started chasing them down the street.
"[My brother] was the first to run out of breath and they caught him and robbed him and beat him and attacked him with a machete," she said.
With the help of the canine unit, Winnipeg police arrested the attacker — who is also 15 and is unknown to the victim — on Flora Avenue, which is one street over from where the incident happened.
The attacker has been charged with aggravated assault, robbery, possession of a weapon and four counts of failing to comply with a probation order, police said.
Police are continuing to investigate what happened.
The teenager's sister, who's from Deloraine, Man., said the violence on Winnipeg streets has been happening for a long time and is "absolutely insane."
"They missed all his vital organs, but like at the same time, the severity of the attack and the fact that his perpetrator was only charged with aggravated assault, to me, that's sickening," she said.
"I'm a very stubborn person and I have a very strong sense of justice, especially moral justice and I will not be letting this slide."
She said her brother lives in Winnipeg with his mother and that the family's priority is to make sure he pulls through this and recovers quickly. She's set up a GoFundMe to raise funds to cover any travel costs for family members who wish to see him in the hospital, comfort items for him and therapy, which he may need in the future.
When the federal government tabled its 2025 budget last month, it included a proposal that tax fraud experts say is long overdue — if also a belated acknowledgement that the Canada Revenue Agency has been repeatedly duped into paying out untold millions in bogus tax refunds to scammers.
Talking with an AI chatbot can successfully convince people to change their votes and could affect the outcome of future elections, according to a new study.
While some are writing wishlists for Santa Claus, a group of Newfoundland and Labrador youth are writing their wishlist for the provincial government.
A horse owner near Stewiacke, N.S., says the current shortage of hay in the province is putting pressure on her financially.
Victoria Volkanova was remembering Jewish resilience and courage by celebrating Hanukkah on Sunday.
Winnipeggers are still digging out from this past week’s winter wallop, but the wait for roadside assistance is almost over, according to the provincial motoring association.
When long-time journalist Cornelia Naylor picked up the first copy of her newly printed community newspaper this week, it wasn’t something she had ever expected to do.
The province's police watchdog is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a woman in Toronto Sunday.
Toronto police say a collision involving several vehicles in the city's east-end left one driver in life-threatening condition Sunday.
A church service in Stratford, P.E.I., brought together Christmas traditions from across the globe on Sunday.
On an extremely cold day, many people would prefer to stay home, cozy up under a blanket, and put on the TV, radio, or a favourite podcast.
In an era of Ring doorbells and No Soliciting signs, breaking the evening silence of a suburban London street can sometimes feel like a radical act.
For years, oil tanker traffic has been prohibited off the waters of northern British Columbia in order to protect environmentally sensitive coastlines from disaster.