Friday, October 23, 2009

Dad charged with assaulting mom, 3-month-old son (Winnipeg, Canada)

UNNAMED DAD has been charged with assault and assault with a deadly weapon in an attack on his partner and their 3-month-old son. Note that for a neighbor, this attack was particularly traumatic: HER 3-month-old son was killed by his father in 1986.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/winnipeg/2009/10/23/11497866-sun.html

Friday, October 23, 2009
Man attacked baby, partner: sources
Domestic dispute in St. James


By CHRIS KITCHING, SUN MEDIA

Last Updated: 23rd October 2009, 3:20am

A Winnipeg man faces charges after he allegedly assaulted his child and partner in a violent domestic dispute in a St. James apartment late Wednesday night, sources say.

The child, described as a baby, was physically assaulted, while the woman was struck with a weapon, a source said.

Neither was seriously injured, the source said.

The incident happened in a second-floor suite at an apartment block at 85 Carriage Rd. about 10 p.m., tenants of the building said yesterday.

Police declined to release details of the incident, saying only a man is charged with assault and assault with a weapon. They didn't release his name in an attempt to protect the victims' identities.

Word of the assaults stunned and disturbed tenants and others who live on Carriage Road.

"I don't understand how anybody could hurt a (child) or anyone who can't defend themselves," said Dolly Felix, a mom. "This has got to stop."

It's a sensitive topic for Felix, whose three-month-old son Daniel died as a result of abuse in 1986. The child's father was convicted.

"It's just very upsetting," said Felix, who almost broke into tears in speaking to reporters.

Wednesday's incident is the latest in a series of violent assaults against young children in Winnipeg this year.

One was killed and two others seriously injured in previous incidents.

In September, two children were seriously injured during separate assaults in the Gilbert Park housing complex.

In one, a woman allegedly abducted a 14-month-old girl from her mother's home and smashed the girl's face against a sidewalk.

The other occurred a few weeks later when a 23-year-old father allegedly swung an object and struck his eight-month-old son in the head while fighting with the boy's mom.

In June, a 20-month-old girl died, allegedly at the hands of her 27-year-old mother, of physical abuse. The girl's mom is charged with second-degree murder.

chris.kitching@sunmedia.ca