A 55-year-old man and the man who assaulted him in his Abbotsford home early Sunday morning are both in hospital after a bloody fight.
Police were called to a home in the 2400 block of Crescent Way at roughly 2:45 a.m. for reports of an assault in progress.
“It was chaotic,” said Abbotsford Police Const. Ian MacDonald of the scene when police arrived. “There was a fair amount of mayhem.”
MacDonald said the suspect, a 25-year-old man who has “a considerable history with the police,” had entered the home carrying multiple weapons, including a machete, bear spray, and an imitation firearm.
The victim’s son, who asked not to be identified, told CTV News he was woken up by his father’s screaming.
“I go over to the bathroom where they were tussling and it’s just covered in blood,” he said. “The other guy’s on the ground and my dad’s on top of him holding him like a bear.”
He said he grabbed a weapon from the basement -- police retrieved a hammer and bolt cutters they say the victims used in self-defense -- and tried to stop the assault.
“I kept on hitting him and hitting him until he stopped, and then phoned 9-1-1 and then the cops came,” the victim’s son said. “It was pretty intense, for sure.”
Police said they haven’t yet determined a motive for the attack, and are exploring all options.
“Certainly if somebody shows up at your house and they have bear spray and a couple of weapons, normally robbery is in there somewhere,” said MacDonald.
The victim and the suspect don’t know each other, police said, but the victim’s son said he had met the attacker a couple of times in the past.
“I barely know the guy,” he said. “I’ve just, you know, met him once or twice.”
Police will recommend charges of assault with a weapon, MacDonald said, and may end up recommending other charges after completing their investigation.
“He should go to jail for a long time,” the victim’s son said of his father’s attacker. “Definitely something should happen because of this.”
The fight was so loud it woke up neighbours, several of whom also called the police.
Neighbour Andrew Hartnell said it’s not the first time there’s been trouble in the area.
“I think there’s some bad eggs in the neighbourhood,” he said. “A lot of the houses are sitting empty, unoccupied. It’s creating a real issue for just the neighbourhood watch kind of thing that takes effect normally. Having houses empty around me, it’s not giving me a huge sense of security.”
Hartnell said he feels like the city of Abbotsford hasn’t focused enough of its energy on its older neighbourhoods, worrying instead about the new developments on the outskirts of town.
“This area of Abbotsford seems to have just gotten kind of forgotten,” he said. “That’s how it seems anyway, sometimes.”
