An Alberta man is calling for better approaches to treating people with a mental illness, after his 89-year-old father was hospitalized following a random attack in downtown Edmonton last week.
Over the last week, Fort McMurray resident Jay Woolner has been spending time at his father’s bedside as the senior recovers from a violent, unprovoked attack.
“The trends in Edmonton are ridiculously violent right now,” he said. “And this needs to change.”
“If you’re going to be a risk to yourself or to others, somebody needs to take care of you.”
His father, a retired professional photographer, was out with his camera taking photos near 97 Street and Jasper Avenue when he was randomly attacked on July 9.
Police say a man charged Woolner’s father, shoving him to the ground before climbing on top of him. Two Peace Officers in the area saw the attack and were able to intervene.
The suspect, a 54-year-old man, was arrested by police and has been charged with one count of aggravated assault.
The 89-year-old was taken to hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries.
‘I’M NOT MAD’
Woolner said he was shocked when he got the call from a paramedic explaining what had happened.
“I was pretty worried, concerned about what was going on,” he said. “It was scary.”
And the more details he heard, the more worried he was.
“Then I find out that he’s going for hip surgery, because his hip is broken,” he said.
Woolner says he was told by police that the man who attacked his dad did it because he thought the photographer was a government agent spying on him with his camera.
Woolner said people struggling with addiction or psychiatric disorders are often left to “fend for themselves.”
Even if the man is found guilty, Woolner believes he won’t spend long in prison and will be back out on the street with no support again, where he could hurt someone again.
“I’m not mad at the guy, I’m honestly not mad at him,” Woolner said. “But, either he needs to make the decision to take care of his own mental health or somebody has to make it for him.”
“And that’s not a thing right now, and that has to change,” he added.
He said he wants to see more involved support structures, like dedicated psychiatric facilities, in place for people who need long-term management of mental health medications.
On Wednesday, EPS Deputy Chief Darren Derko expressed his concerns over the attack.
“I’m disappointed and concerned to report that a senior that regularly spends time in the downtown core taking photographs as a hobby was traumatized and injured,” Derko said.
It will be weeks or even months before Woolner’s father has recovered enough to go home, and it could be longer still before he’s feeling confident enough to take his camera back out to some of his favorite downtown spots.
“My dad doesn’t scare easily, but you could tell that he’s definitely a little nervous about the idea of going downtown and taking pictures again, which is sad,” Woolner said. “He should be safe to walk wherever the hell he wants and take pictures.”
Woolner doesn’t know how his dad’s mobility will be affected by the surgery, but his father has already let him know it’s not the end for him and his camera.
“He says, ‘Well, I don’t really care where I shoot, but I think I’m gonna have to be a lot more cautious when I got out now.'”
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Miriam Valdes-Carletti