Three suspects arrested in alleged Windsor assault posted on social media

Windsor police say they have arrested three suspects after releasing a video of an alleged violent assault posted on social media.

Interim Police Chief Jason Bellaire talked about the arrests on AM800's The Morning Drive Wednesday morning.

"No one deserves to be the victim of such senseless, reprehensible violence,” says Bellaire. “It's very disturbing, it's hard to watch, and it's despicable all around. We're certainly looking for the community's help and then we can charge the remaining suspects in this case once they're identified and located."

Investigators say they became aware of two separate incidents on Monday, where a group of suspects appear to randomly assault lone victims. The alleged assaults were recorded and posted to social media.

Police released a blurred and edited version of the videos on Tuesday, asking for the public’s help identifying multiple suspects.

Bellaire says the suspects arrested so far are two adult men and a youth. They are expected to face charges of robbery and aggravated assault in court on Wednesday.

"Windsor's a great city and a safe city, and I take my family to every corner of this city and there's no where I won't go where I don't feel safe. Perhaps it's because I came up as a young adult and a police officer in Windsor. There's a lot of great things going on in the community, and the community responded right away in this instance when we put out a call for assistance. Our community does back the philosophy of justice in this city," Bellaire says.

Investigators say the first assault occurred on Saturday, Aug. 27, at about 4:20 a.m., in the parking lot of a restaurant located in the 100 block of Wyandotte Street East.

Five to seven suspects are believed to have been involved, say police. Anyone in the area with surveillance cameras are asked to check their footage for possible evidence from approximately 3:45 a.m. to 5 a.m.

Police say the second assault is believed to have occurred on Saturday, Aug. 27 at approximately 5:20 a.m., in the area of Church Street and Pitt Street West.

It is possible the suspects were in the downtown core prior to the assaults. Investigators request all residents and businesses in the area to check their surveillance footage for possible evidence from approximately 4:45 a.m. to 5:45 a.m.

Through its investigation, police say it is believed the same suspects are involved in both assaults, which are thought to be random. Both incidents involve adult male victims who were walking alone when they were allegedly assaulted.

Police say one victim sustained a serious injury.

Bellaire said his message for the remaining suspects is to come forward.

“They should turn themselves in,” he says. “They did what they did, and they will be identified. I mean, it's a social media world. I find it hard to believe that sooner or later somebody won't come forward.”

Bellaire adds, “I think when you commit a crime on video and then you share it, I think that's very helpful for the police. I think in a social media world, where you can reach one end of the world to the other in a matter of seconds through social media posts. The fact that that's out there and spreads so quickly was able to allow us to act faster.”

Bellaire says he understands the reputation surrounding downtown Windsor because of incidents such as this, and with the higher population count and movement of people through the core, crime in downtown Windsor is statistically going to be a bit higher.

But ultimately, he believes downtown Windsor is a safe place to be.

“It's not maybe what some people want it to be at this point. But I think the city's working with partners, everybody's working together and you know, you're never going to get me to say that this is not the greatest community to live in,” he says.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Windsor Police Service - Major Crimes Unit at 519-255-6700 ext. 4830, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 519-258-8477 (TIPS) or online at www.catchcrooks.com.

— With files from CTV News Windsor’s Chris Campbell