Charleswood resident Brent LaRose said he is still shaken up after being assaulted on a Winnipeg Transit bus shortly before noon on Saturday. “I did not see it coming,” LaRose said on Monday morning. The 66-year-old said he sat by himself on a nearly empty bus on his way to a Unicity bus stop near a large retail complex. He said an unsuspecting man walked up to him and quickly punched him in the stomach twice. “The way he hit me, if he’d had a knife in his hand, I wouldn’t be having this discussion,” LaRose said. “He would’ve killed me because it was right in the centre of the chest and it was that fast.” LaRose said he quickly alerted the bus driver who pulled over the bus in the 3600 block of Portage Avenue. The bus driver booted the 27-year-old suspect off the bus, and they watched the man enter a nearby store. Inside the store, the violence continued, according to Winnipeg Police Service. “This individual, who was 27 years of age, chose to select an aluminum baseball bat and strike this five-year-old twice, both at the head,” said Insp. Max Waddell. “Once when he was standing and when he had later fallen to the ground.” “I was sorry that (authorities) hadn’t got to me sooner and maybe gone and found the guy before he’d attacked the child,” LaRose said after he learned what happened to the five-year-old child. Minutes later, the suspect made his way to a collision repair centre in the 3500 block of Portage Avenue where he stole a customer’s vehicle keys before shortly being arrested by WPS. LaRose said he takes the bus two or three times a week, but fear from his attack may change that. He said it’s not the first time a serious incident had occurred at the same bus loop where the suspect got off in Unicity. In November 2024, a WPS officer was stabbed in the throat by a man who was then shot and killed by officers. “I’m concerned about that now because it can happen anywhere,” LaRose said. He said police cadets or other WPS officers should become permanent fixtures on city transit. Waddell said the pilot program introduced by WPS in September 2025 placing duty officers on board city buses is a good start. He said there is a limit however as to what they can do. “If we have more officer presence on there, we’re going to be able to deter that from happening and just make the general ridership feel more safe as they’re getting between their destinations,” Waddell said. In a statement to CTV News, Derek Hanley, vice president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505, said the incident on Saturday is another example of daily risks faced by transit operators and passengers. “This attack, especially the violence inflicted on a passenger, is a sobering reminder that our operators are facing dangerous and unpredictable situations every day, and it is past time for more action to make transit safer for everyone,” Hanley said. The suspect was charged with aggravated assault, as well as assault and theft under $5,000. He remains in custody, and none of the charges have been proven in court. The suspect and victims were not known to each other. Police said the five-year-old child was transported to hospital in stable condition and treated for his injuries.
