Victoria Police are seeking information about suspects in a random, unprovoked assault in the Burnside-Gorge neighbourhood.
At around 2 p.m. on Thursday August 6, police were dispatched after receiving reports that a 64-year-old woman was assaulted while taking a picture of a dog at in Burnside Gorge’s Cecelia Ravine.
According to a statement from VicPD, the victim reported that she was working in the gardens at the nearby community centre when she saw a black Labrador dog sitting alone by the ravine.
Concerned about the dog’s safety, she went to take a photo of it with her phone. While doing so, she was randomly assaulted from behind by a man.
The report says she was pushed over to the ground, and that the man took her phone and threw it into the ravine.
After this, the suspect and a woman accompanying him took the dog, went to a nearby tent, packed it up, and left.
The victim, in the meantime, says she went back to the community centre to call police. She sustained non-life threatening injuries during the incident and declined medical treatment. Her phone was found in the ravine, damaged beyond repair.
The suspect and the woman accompanying him had left the area when police arrived.
He is described as a slim Caucasian man in his early 20s, standing 5’6″ tall. At the time of the incident, he was wearing a football jersey with the number 44 on the back, a baseball hat and shorts.
Police say the woman accompanying him had pink hair, was wearing a crop top, and riding an orange bicycle.
Anyone who recognizes the suspect is asked to contact Victoria Police at (250) 995-7654 ext 1. To report what you know anonymously, call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
