An elderly woman was taken to hospital with injuries after a man pushed her to the ground and assaulted her.

A 42-year-old Thunder Bay man faces an assault charge after the apparent unprovoked and random attack of an elderly woman at a local park Thursday evening.

Thunder Bay Police Service officers with the Primary Response Unit were dispatched to the 100 block of High Street South at Hillcrest Park for a reported assault in progress just after 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 4.

When officers arrived they immediately located a male suspect, and placed him under arrest without further incident.

An investigation revealed that an adult male had ran to an elderly woman, pushed her to the ground and assaulted her.

Further investigation revealed the male was not known to the victim and the attack appeared to be random and unprovoked.

The victim sustained injuries and was believed to be in significant pain. She declined EMS assistance, but was transported to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre by a friend for further evaluation and treatment of her injuries.

The exact extent of those injuries are unknown at this time.

The accused was transported to TBPS headquarters at 1200 Balmoral Street.

Michael Joseph WATSON, 42, of Thunder Bay, is charged with:

• Assault Causing Bodily Harm

He appeared in bail court on Friday, Aug. 5 and was remanded into custody with a future appearance date.  – Thunder Bay Police Services via Tbnewswatch

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This city has gone to shit. A person can’t even enjoy a city park without worrying about being assaulted. 8pm an a Thursday evening during the first week of August, a person might think that, because of the large amount of people in the park, it would be a safe place to go. Turns out that there are no safe places to go in this city at any time of the day.

There are people on the streets of this city that should not be there.  They belong in an institution where they can receive the care, treatment and supervision that is required.