Leaside mom warns ‘be aware’ after son attacked

A Leaside mother is warning other parents and kids to be vigilant when they’re out and about in the neighbourhood after her 13-year-old son and his friends were attacked by another group.

Lisa Nash says her son and four friends were near Bayview Avenue and Millwood Road at about 6 p.m. Tuesday when three kids who had been selling chocolate door-to-door approached.

“Those boys started hassling my son and his friends,” she said, adding they tried to ignore the group. But then things got worse.

One in the group was a few years older, and Nash said that boy pushed her son. The boys ran to a nearby home, chased by the others.

Nash says the group caught one of the boys, pulled him back, and punched him in the face repeatedly. The boy was also hit in the face with a pop can

“He got a little cut on his cheek,” Nash said.

Neighbours in the area witnessed the assault, she said, and chased the boys away but couldn’t catch them. Some, including Nash, drove around looking for the boys, but they were not found. She said her son didn’t recognize them.

One of the neighbours who gave chase had been approached earlier in the afternoon by the teens who, when rebuffed on their offer to buy chocolate, became aggressive and argued with her.

Nash said she reported the incident to police.

Now, she’s just hoping others will keep an eye out and be aware of their surroundings.

“The chance of this happening again, who knows?” she said. “But my thing is always be aware of what’s going on around you.”