Police seek tips after violent park assaults

Calgary police are investigating an assault on a man walking in Fish Creek Park on Saturday morning — the second to take place in a south Calgary park on the same day.

Police say that between 10:15 a.m. and 10:40 a.m., a man in his 50s was walking on a pathway in the park — east of Macleod Trail on the south bank of the creek, south of Canyon Meadows Drive S.E. — when a stranger hit him from behind and robbed him before fleeing.

The victim was taken to hospital in serious condition, where he remains. Due to the severity of his injuries, police were only able to interview the victim Monday.

No weapons were involved in the attack, police say.

The same day at around 7:50 p.m., a teen boy walking at the Braeside off-leash dog park with his mother was stabbed by an unknown man, suffering serious internal injuries.

Both attacks are thought to be random and police say there’s no indication they are connected.

“It’s important to remember that sometimes these happen on the same day, however, they are unrelated,” CPS Staff Sgt. Jeff Macqueen told media Monday.

“In the (dog park stabbing), robbery was not a motive and it was a different physical description.”

Police described the suspect in the Fish Creek assault as a 40- to 50-year-old man with brown skin, spring-rolled black hair and a medium build. He was wearing a black top with white dots and black pants.

Macqueen said the remote location of each crime is making investigations more difficult, due to fewer witnesses and less available footage.

Though police have reviewed some CCTV footage, they’re asking the public to check their own recordings to provide information by calling 403-266-1234 or contacting Crime Stoppers anonymously.