VicPD are currently searching for a suspect who assaulted a missing, developmentally-challenged 15-year-old in a tent in Beacon Hill Park Tuesday night.
Shortly after 10 p.m. paramedics and the Victoria Fire Department called VicPD for assistance after receiving reports that a 15-year-old was being assaulted and choked in a tent near Douglas Street and Circle Drive.
During the investigation, officers and paramedics attempting to transport the victim for medical treatment were confronted and assaulted by campers at Beacon Hill Park.
Paramedics treated the victim for non-life-threatening but potentially life-altering injuries from the assault.
When officers arrived, they attempted to speak with the victim, but those who were camping in the park began to urge the victim not to speak to officers.
Campers at Beacon Hill Park urged the victim to leave the area by grabbing and pulling the victim away, confronting the officers.
Officers were able to take the victim under the Child, Family and Community Service Act.
Campers at Beacon Hill then got physical with officers, spitting at one officer and biting and hitting another in the mouth. Two officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries as a result.
Officers initiated a code 3 over their radios and additional units responded, and the victim was transported to hospital and treated.
The suspect
The suspect has been identified as a 38-year-old man with numerous recent charges, including assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon and breaching court ordered conditions.
Officers are working to locate the man and take him into custody, and do not believe there is a risk to the wider public.
This file remains under investigation.
The victim
During the continued investigation, officers learned that the 15-year-old victim is developmentally delayed and had been reported missing from home.
Other VicPD were working to locate the victim at the time they were discovered in Beacon Hill Park.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call VicPD at (250) 995-7654.
To report what you know anonymously, call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
