British Columbia

Victoria Police looking for suspect after attack on 12-year-old in Esquimalt

Victoria Police are alerting parents in Esquimalt and asking for witnesses to come forward after a man attacked as 12-year-old boy on his way to school.

Boy was unhurt after being pulled off his bike by a man he didn't know

Police were called by the boy's family late on Wednesday afternoon after they learned about the incident. (Facebook/Victoria Police Department Esquimalt Division)

Victoria Police are alerting parents in Esquimalt and asking for witnesses to come forward after a man attacked a 12-year-old boy who was on his way to school.

According to a written statement from police, the boy said that between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday he was riding his bike to school near Devonshire and Fairview roads in the Victoria suburb when he was suddenly grabbed and pulled from his bike by a man he did not know.

The boy said he fell to the ground and shielded his face as the man stood over him and grabbed at his backpack. The boy said that a second person, believed also to be a man, then pulled the first man away and ordered the boy to get back on his bike and leave the area.

The boy fled and rode his bike directly to school. He was not physically harmed.

Police were called by the boy's family late on Wednesday afternoon after they learned about the incident.

Esquimalt Division Patrol officers are now looking to speak with the second man who intervened in the incident as they work to identify the man responsible. Officers are also warning parents in the area to be aware.

The boy was not able to describe either man and officers are currently in the area looking for witnesses.