Two men brought together by a horrific event have been reunited.
On Oct. 13, a homeless man was attacked by two young men as he tried to sleep in a bus shelter near Polo Park. Another man, who was at a nearby fast food restaurant for a late night snack, saw what was happening, stepped in and was also beaten.
Friday, the homeless man, who asked to be called Amick, and the Good Samaritan, Doug Thomas, met face-to-face.
At a pre-arranged meeting place, Doug walked up to Amick and the two men shared a hearty handshake. The pair then shared their memories of the night they became forever connected.
“I just kind of leaned over my tarp and noticed two people and thought nothing of it, then I heard them say ‘Let’s sing him a lullaby before we do this’,” Amick said.
He started to get up and that’s when the two men attacked.
Thomas said he was waiting for food at the Tylehurst Street A&W when he saw the beating taking place in the bus shelter. As he tried to intervene, the two men turned on him. He was beaten so viciously he nearly lost his left eye.
While recovering from surgery, Thomas couldn’t help but think of the mysterious homeless man who ran off before the two could speak.
“I’ve been wondering how he’s been doing, I’ve always wondered if he’s okay,” Thomas said.
For Amick, meeting the man he says risked life and limb to help a stranger, was exciting, overwhelming, surreal.
“I was feeling a lot of anxiety even knowing that I was coming to see him today, but once I saw him I was really calm.”
WATCH: Winnipeg man saved from bus shelter beating grateful ‘forever’
The two embraced, sharing their mutual enthusiasm that they both made it out of the attack alive.
“If it wasn’t for him (Doug) … I’d be dead,” Amick said.
The two were able to connect over the incident and Amick spoke openly about the trials of living on the streets.
It’s a hard life, he said. He often hears people saying ‘get a job’, but that would require additional clothing, a place to stay and a bathroom to shower in regularly, he said.
“I wish there were more I could do,” Thomas said to Amick, who replied “You did enough — you saved my life — that’s the most important thing.”
WATCH: The Good Samaritan and the homeless man he stepped in to save from a beating in a Polo Park bus shelter got to meet face to face Friday
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