Calgary dad attacked without provocation while walking his teen to the bus stop

A Calgary family is still in shock after two men assaulted a dad while he was walking his 17-year-old to the bus stop late Saturday night.

“I’m usually pretty cognizant of these things, and there were no alarms going off,” said Kelvin Butler, who was attacked.

“They were talking. We were talking. And then as we passed each other, they just jumped and just started attacking.”

Police were called to the 5100 block of 17th Avenue S.E. on May 2 around 10 p.m. for reports of a man in his 50s being assaulted.

Butler says he was taking his son, Nico, to the bus stop and that his son was planning to meet up with friends for a sleepover.

“We got into the scuffling thing, and I told Nico to run ahead and call the cops,” said Butler.

“Once they got me on the ground, the two of them started hitting me. And then they must’ve got bored or something, or they got scared, or I wasn’t reacting the way they wanted me to, and then they just ran off.

“It was just so random. I just don’t understand.”

Butler says he received a gash to his head and other injuries to his arms and legs.

His clothes were also covered in blood.

“I lost my balance, and I got on the ground, then the two of them were like, over top of me, and they punched me like five, six times,” he said.

“I got lucky, right? Because they quit. If they didn’t quit or if they had kept going once I was down, I was done.

“They had me dead to rights.”

Butler’s son says he was scared by the incident.

“It was horrible because I’ve walked through this neighbourhood my whole life,” said Nico.

“We’ve lived here for 10 years, and then we lived down there by the Esso for five, six years. We’ve lived here my whole life.

“I’ve gone to school in this neighbourhood my whole life.”

Nico says he had panic attacks after the incident.

“I wanted something to drink (from Dollarama), but I was too scared to even leave the house,” he said.

“I had to get my dad to walk me there. It’s literally right across the street.”

Police say the investigation remains open.

“It is believed that two unknown men approached the victim and, without being provoked, assaulted the victim,” read a statement from police.

“The offenders fled westbound on 17th Avenue S.E. before police arrived.

“Officers conducted an extensive search of the area; however, they were unable to locate the offenders.”

The Butlers say the two men appeared to be adult teenagers or in their early 20s.

Police describe the two men as Indigenous.

The first man is tall, with a heavy build and shoulder-length black hair.

He was wearing a black hoodie at the time.

The second man has a medium build and spiky black hair.

He was wearing a black hoodie with glittery markings on it.

“I want them to get caught and for them to get charged rightfully with the charges they deserve,” said Nico.

Anyone with relevant information or CCTV or dash-cam footage is asked to call police at 403-266-1234.

Those wishing to remain anonymous can also call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.