Man on life support after 'senseless assault' in Winkler bowling alley

A 25-year-old Saskatoon man is on life support after he was hit several times with a pool cue at a bowling alley in Winkler, Man., an assault police say stemmed from an argument over money.

Police in the south-central Manitoba city said they were called to Valley Bowling Lanes on Main Street late Saturday night, just before midnight, and found a man injured and unconscious.

The man had been struck "several times" with a pool cue, police said.

"The first one arriving on scene immediately began CPR, while other responding officers began gathering the necessary information to locate the suspect," Winkler police Chief Rick Hiebert said Monday.

The man who was hit was taken to Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, where he was on life support on Monday morning, police said.

Hiebert said it appears an argument over an unpaid debt turned violent. The two men knew each other and were in Winkler as part of a work crew, police said.

A witness followed the man who allegedly wielded the pool cue to a 7-Eleven convenience store and called police, who arrested him within minutes of the attack, Hiebert said.

A 29-year-old man, also from Saskatoon, faces charges of aggravated assault and possessing a controlled substance. He is in custody at the Winnipeg Remand Centre and is expected to make a court appearance on Monday.

"Our hearts go out to the family whose loved one was the victim of a senseless assault Saturday night," the Winkler Police Service said in a news release.

Winkler is about 100 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg.