'Hopeful he'll return back to us': Victim in downtown Calgary random assault fights for life in hospital
The family of a man in a Calgary hospital after being assaulted downtown in a series of violent attacks last week is praying he pulls through and are looking for answers as to why it happened.
“We’re just basically seeing how he does one day to the next,” said Candice Richards.
Her younger brother, Michael Richards -- who she endearingly refers to as Mikey -- was among three people seriously injured Friday morning in what police are calling “random attacks.”
Richards says her brother, who will turn 34 in two days, suffered a brain bleed, broken jaw among other injuries and was barely recognizable when she first visited him in hospital.
“He’s not awake or able to communicate. He’s not able to open his eyes," she said. "They have him in a medically induced coma but are waking him every four hours to check his brain activity.”
Mikey is from Fort McMurray but was in Calgary visiting family at the time of the attack.
Richards was told by investigators that her brother was found bleeding badly from the head and unconscious in a bus shelter at Sixth Avenue and First Street S.W.
According to police, he was the second victim to be found, roughly 90 minutes after the first victim used the emergency button at the Fourth Street CTrain station after being slashed by someone with a machete around 3 a.m.
A third victim was found near the Peace Bridge and was taken to hospital with injuries to his hand.
Richards says she hopes to find and thank the person who found her brother and called for help.
“Whoever you are out there, just know we will forever be grateful,” she says. “I believe he was discovered because he wasn’t meant to go, he was meant to survive.”
Mikey is a member of the McMurray Métis and according to Richards, the community has been rallying behind her brother since finding out about the attack.
Richards has been told if her brother pulls through he’ll have a very long recovery including reconstruction to his face and possible speech or memory loss, though it’s too early to tell.
She and her family are currently raising funds through a GoFundMePage to support him in his hopeful recovery.
“He’s got a huge heart, he cares a lot about everybody he would help anybody in need he’s just that kind of guy he’s a big softy, we just want him back we just want him to recover," she said.
Man charged is son of CPS officer
Candice has many questions about her brother’s attacker and was shocked to learn the man charged is the son of a serving officer with the Calgary Police Service (CPS).
Conner Dery is charged with one count of aggravated assault and one count of carrying a concealed weapon.
CPS says Dery’s father recognized a CCTV image of the suspect police were searching for Friday and identified his 25-year-old son to police.
“We’re obviously very angry, hurt and confused. We don’t know why anybody would do this to Mikey because he’s harmless, he would never harm anyone,” said Richards.
At this point in the investigation, Calgary police say there are no known motives for the attacks or known similarities with the victims.
Originally a fourth victim was reported by police but investigators deemed that case to be unfounded.
Dery made his first court appearance Monday, charged with one count of aggravated assault and one count of carrying a concealed weapon. Court was told he has a brain injury. His defence lawyer tells CTV Dery is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation and is due back in court Wednesday.
So far the charges aren’t in connection with what happened to Mikey but Davison says she and her husband watched the first court appearance virtually and she hopes to find some answers through the court process as to why her brother was targeted.
Police continue to ask anyone with information about the attacks downtown on Friday to contact them at 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.