Boy reports unprovoked attack in Esquimalt, B.C.

A 12-year-old boy is not physically hurt after what officers say was an unprovoked attack in Esquimalt, B.C.

Victoria police say the youth was on his way to school just after 8 a.m. Wednesday when he was grabbed and pulled from his bike by a man he did not know.

ALERT | A 12-year-old #Esquimalt boy was pulled from his bike at Devonshire & Fairview on his way to school this morning. We're looking for the suspect & to speak w a bystander who intervened. #yyj | https://t.co/sqanWF2a04

— Victoria Police (@vicpdcanada) April 8, 2021

The police statement says the boy lay on the ground and shielded his face as the man tried to take his backpack.

The youngster told police a second person, believed to be a man, stepped in and pushed the attacker away before urging the boy to get back on his bike and leave.

The boy continued to school and the incident was not reported until later on Wednesday when the child told his family.

Police want to speak to anyone who may have seen what happened near Devonshire and Fairview roads and they hope to speak to the person who intervened to stop the attack.