'I don't regret it at all': Man badly hurt in attack at Portage Avenue bus shelter
Victim says he was coming to the aid of another man being assaulted by 2 attackers
Warning: This story contains graphic images.
A Winnipeg man is recovering after a violent assault on Portage Avenue across the road from CF Polo Park Shopping Centre overnight.
Doug Thomas said he and his wife Tracy were getting something to eat at A&W around 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning when they noticed two men disturbing another man who appeared to be sleeping on a bench in a bus shelter.
He said at first he just watched, but when things got physical, his instincts took over and he ran over to intervene.
"All of a sudden they grabbed him and threw him on the floor," said Thomas. "They started to kick him and they were kicking him and kicking him."
Thomas said he knocked one of the men out of the way and that's when the other man hit him and knocked him to the ground.
"Next thing I know I could just hear, feel the kicks," said Thomas. "They were kicking me."
Thomas said he can't remember how long the assault went on. However, he remembers one of the men grabbing him by his face.
"His nails went right into my face and my eye and he tore my eyelid," said Thomas.
Thomas said his tear duct is severed, his eyelid is torn he has bruises on his head and his body is still sore.
A spokesperson for Winnipeg police said officers were called to the scene at Portage Avenue and Tylehurst Street at around 2:10 a.m., after it was reported a man was seriously assaulted in the area. An investigation is ongoing.
In an emotional post on Facebook, Tracy Thomas posted pictures and said seeing her husband brutally hurt was the scariest moment of her life.
"Thank you to the Good Samaritan 'young lady who called 911' and stayed with police while we went to hospital," she wrote.
Thomas said he's still in pain, but he is able to see out of the eye that was injured.
He said even though he was hurt, he wouldn't change a thing.
"If that was me and somebody was kicking me like that, I would want someone to intervene the same way I did," said Thomas. "I would do it all over again. I don't regret it at all."
Thomas said the two men that attacked him took off. The other man in the bus shelter appeared to be OK.
Thomas has spoken with police about what happened.
"Now I hope they do catch these guys," said Thomas. "If this happens to somebody else, I wouldn't want that."
