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Skate park dispute leads to tire slashing

Sep 25, 2017 | 10:09 AM

 

MEDICINE HAT, ALTA- Police are looking for two men, following a tire slashing in Medicine Hat on Friday afternoon.

According to the Medicine Hat Police Service, the incident began after a disagreement between two groups at the Kinsmen Skate Plaza in Kin Coulee Park. Two groups at the plaza, who were unknown to each other, got into an argument while exiting the skate park.

Police said that during the argument, the two groups made “offensive faces” at one another, which escalated the disagreement into one of the groups following three youth and an adult in their vehicle back to a residence in the 1800 block of 18 Avenue Southeast.

Once at the home, two men from the group that had followed the other exited their vehicle, and approached the victims car. During the argument, one of the two males took a knife from inside the victim’s vehicle, and slashed the tires, running from the scene after attacking the car.

Police are now searching for three suspects in the matter, two of them being the pair that approached the victim’s car. While a plate for the aggressor’s vehicle is unknown, it is believed to be a silver Mercury Cougar. The two men are described as Caucasian, and between the ages of 20 to 25 years old.

The victim’s vehicle was a Ford Ranger pickup truck, and the three youth and one adult were all born between 2000 to 2001.

Police are requesting assistance from the public to identify both, the driver of the silver car, and the male passenger who is shown in the attached photo and video hanging from the rear of the car in an attempt to obscure the licence plate.

Inspector Joe West says road rage incidents like this are rare in Medicine Hat. Despite the recent incident, he says he still believes Medicine Hat is a safe place to live.

“We are getting to a population of well above 60,000, and with that increase in population, certainly we experience a higher degree of these types of problems, but I really believe that Medicine Hat is still a great community and a safe place to live,”  he said.

West adds police continue to follow leads with the case, and they’re hoping to make an arrest this week.

Anyone with information on the identity of the two males is asked to contact the Medicine Hat Police Service at 403-529-8481.

Police have also released a video of the suspect involved in the incident, which can be viewed below.