A machete-wielding teen pleaded guilty to attacking two people and damaging cars on Boxing Day during a racist rage in the north parking lot of Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo. The 17-year-old male, who can’t be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, has remained behind bars since being arrested that day. He’s expected to stay locked up until sentenced on June 27.His 62-year-old victim hopes the Crown prosecutor will push to keep him locked up long after that — for the benefit of society and himself — while getting long-term addictions treatment.On Boxing Day, in a drug and alcohol fuelled rage (according to Calgary Police Service when he was arrested) he charged, waved the machete, and screamed ‘F**k white power.’He found his white victim headed to the Zoo Lights with her husband and launched a vicious and unprovoked attack.He chased them. They hid behind parked cars. She ran with her hands over her head to protect it when he smashed the hood of a car she was crouching under.“Luckily, I was running. Because I was running and didn’t stop, I didn’t get stabbed,” the victim told the Western Standard at the time. He hit her hard on the lower back with the machete as her husband ran to her defence.It took a long time for the pain to heal from the bruise. The emotional aftershock of being attacked was fierce.The attacker appeared via closed-circuit television in youth court Thursday and pleaded guilty to amended charges of assault with a weapon on two victims and mischief to property. He initially faced five charges.He also admitted to charges of breaching release conditions and an unrelated assault with a weapon charge.Justice Jennifer Shaften was asked by defence lawyer James Wyman to adjourn sentencing so a pre-sentence report could be completed. A Gladue report, to study an indigenous offender's personal and family history, has been ordered. “I’m very interested to see what the sentence is. I hope everything I wrote to the Crown’s prosecutors office will make a difference,” said the victim who expressed a wish that her attacker enters long-term treatment.“My husband figures he’ll get time served and be gone because it’ll be six months,” said the victim.Cutting him loose won’t do society or him any favours.“Both my husband and I believe he really needs serious help. And long-term help. Then he has a chance. He’s still young.”“What I know about addiction, because I’ve had it in my family, is that once you’ve gone through some treatment process — I’m not talking the short 30-day ones — but good treatment and you’ve been sober for a while, then you go back you know how you got there.”That gives addicts a choice.“Before that, in my opinion, when you are enthralled in addiction, addiction runs the show.”“A head full of AA and a belly full of beer doesn’t mix very well. That’s what they say.”Her husband is 32 years sober and in Alcoholics Anonymous. She’s a member of Al-Anon.“We have great compassion for alcoholism and addiction. It’s a big deal when people find sobriety and they keep it. When they don’t it’s sad.”She doesn’t downplay the physical and emotional difficulty she endured from the attack.But it resulted in her “getting stronger and more fit” — which offers a stronger sense of control.Trauma lingers. Trauma has to be dealt with. She advises victims to talk about it.“Talk about it with people you know are safe. You’ll find them quickly because you’ll know how they respond to you. And get help because it's out there. Get the therapy that can help with trauma.”
A machete-wielding teen pleaded guilty to attacking two people and damaging cars on Boxing Day during a racist rage in the north parking lot of Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo. The 17-year-old male, who can’t be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, has remained behind bars since being arrested that day. He’s expected to stay locked up until sentenced on June 27.His 62-year-old victim hopes the Crown prosecutor will push to keep him locked up long after that — for the benefit of society and himself — while getting long-term addictions treatment.On Boxing Day, in a drug and alcohol fuelled rage (according to Calgary Police Service when he was arrested) he charged, waved the machete, and screamed ‘F**k white power.’He found his white victim headed to the Zoo Lights with her husband and launched a vicious and unprovoked attack.He chased them. They hid behind parked cars. She ran with her hands over her head to protect it when he smashed the hood of a car she was crouching under.“Luckily, I was running. Because I was running and didn’t stop, I didn’t get stabbed,” the victim told the Western Standard at the time. He hit her hard on the lower back with the machete as her husband ran to her defence.It took a long time for the pain to heal from the bruise. The emotional aftershock of being attacked was fierce.The attacker appeared via closed-circuit television in youth court Thursday and pleaded guilty to amended charges of assault with a weapon on two victims and mischief to property. He initially faced five charges.He also admitted to charges of breaching release conditions and an unrelated assault with a weapon charge.Justice Jennifer Shaften was asked by defence lawyer James Wyman to adjourn sentencing so a pre-sentence report could be completed. A Gladue report, to study an indigenous offender's personal and family history, has been ordered. “I’m very interested to see what the sentence is. I hope everything I wrote to the Crown’s prosecutors office will make a difference,” said the victim who expressed a wish that her attacker enters long-term treatment.“My husband figures he’ll get time served and be gone because it’ll be six months,” said the victim.Cutting him loose won’t do society or him any favours.“Both my husband and I believe he really needs serious help. And long-term help. Then he has a chance. He’s still young.”“What I know about addiction, because I’ve had it in my family, is that once you’ve gone through some treatment process — I’m not talking the short 30-day ones — but good treatment and you’ve been sober for a while, then you go back you know how you got there.”That gives addicts a choice.“Before that, in my opinion, when you are enthralled in addiction, addiction runs the show.”“A head full of AA and a belly full of beer doesn’t mix very well. That’s what they say.”Her husband is 32 years sober and in Alcoholics Anonymous. She’s a member of Al-Anon.“We have great compassion for alcoholism and addiction. It’s a big deal when people find sobriety and they keep it. When they don’t it’s sad.”She doesn’t downplay the physical and emotional difficulty she endured from the attack.But it resulted in her “getting stronger and more fit” — which offers a stronger sense of control.Trauma lingers. Trauma has to be dealt with. She advises victims to talk about it.“Talk about it with people you know are safe. You’ll find them quickly because you’ll know how they respond to you. And get help because it's out there. Get the therapy that can help with trauma.”
