'He doesn't have anybody': Indian students at U of M want to help victim of bus shelter attack

Indian students at the University of Manitoba are hoping to connect with the new-to-Winnipeg student who was viciously beaten in an apparently random and unprovoked attack at a downtown bus stop Tuesday morning.

The 17-year-old victim, an international student at the U of M, had moved from India just three weeks before the assault, which sent him to hospital with injuries to his head and face.

"It breaks the heart of fellow Indians at the university to see someone that just came here to study and have a better life — and it just went the total opposite," said Dhruv Patel, president of the university's Indian Students' Association.

"We're ready to do whatever we can to help him because at the end of the day, he has no support here."

The attack happened around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday inside a large shelter attached to the front of Portage Place Shopping Centre.

Joshua Zachary Snakeskin, 26, was arrested Wednesday after police say he went on a crime spree that included a carjacking and assault on the driver, and the theft of a pickup truck, in addition to the assault at the bus shelter.

Snakeskin is facing a slew of charges including assault, robbery, theft, mischief and dangerous operation of a vehicle, along with several others offences.

The teenage victim, whose identity has not been released by police, is out of hospital and recovering at a relative's home.

Members of the U of M's Indian Students' Association worked to identify the victim Thursday in the hopes of providing support to him and his family.

"He is part of the Indian community," said Dhruv.

The association's vice-president, Parth Patel, also worries about the victim's family in India and is hoping to find out who the teen is so they can reach out to those who love him back home.

"Maybe his parents don't even know," he said.

'It is really sad'

The incident has rattled fellow international students like Dhanvee Desai, who is in her third year of psychology at the U of M.

Desai relies on Winnipeg Transit on a daily basis to get to and from school and to get to her night job, which leaves her catching the bus after 11 p.m. — something she's now worried about. 

"When I first came I was the same age as him, so I was so scared," she said. "It is really sad, and for the parents, it's really depressing."

Dhruv said the association normally helps international students find answers to the questions they have when they first get to Winnipeg, and to find housing and food, but members want to do more for the victim of the assault.

If they are able to identify the victim, the association hopes to provide financial help he may need during his recovery, but also wants to make sure he feels like part of the community.

Dhruv doesn't want to see the victim leave Winnipeg as a result of the assault.

"In this case, even if we could take turns being by his side for a period of time … because he doesn't have anybody here," he said.

"We can involve him in the activities we have here just so he forgets about that incident, and that trauma won't cause him to potentially go back to India."