A 12-year-old boy and 48-year-old woman are facing charges after a man was assaulted at a mall restaurant in Hamilton over the weekend. It happened on Sunday, at around 1:45 p.m., at a restaurant at The Centre on Barton, located at 1223 Barton St. E. Hamilton police said they were called to the area for reports of an assault involving two male youths and a 59-year-old man. Police allege the two youths approached young Air Cadets who were selling Remembrance Day poppies in front of the restaurant and “blew a loud air horn” into their ears. The cadets’ supervisor, a 59-year-old man, confronted the youth suspects after following them into the restaurant. After a struggle ensued, police said, a woman not involved in the altercation at first stepped to help the youths and allegedly assaulted the man, causing him to fall to the floor. Police said one of the male youths struck the man multiple times before leaving the restaurant. They add that the woman also left before officers arrived at the scene. When officers arrived to the restaurant, they said they found the victim with serious, life-altering injuries and he was taken to the hospital. Hamilton police said they found two youths at a nearby store, after receiving reports of an unrelated disturbance. Police said they charged a 12-year-old boy with assault. The youth cannot be identified under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. On Monday morning, police said they charged a woman with aggravated assault. They did not identify the suspect, only saying she is 48 years old. The charges have not been tested in court.
