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The quick read: A Kelowna woman is still shaken after being violently attacked in broad daylight on the 400-block of Lawrence Avenue on Sunday afternoon, and she says the city needs to stop talking about public safety and start acting. Robertson fought back against a stranger who grabbed her, and with help from the Downtown Kelowna Association's red-shirt team she got her phone back and police located a suspect the next day. That suspect was taken into custody, then released, and no charges have been laid yet.

A Kelowna woman is still shaken after being violently attacked in broad daylight in the city's downtown core.

Robertson was waiting for a friend on the sidewalk in the 400-block of Lawrence Avenue shortly after 1 p.m. on Sunday when a woman she did not know approached her.

The stranger attacked her without warning.

"I was fighting with everything I had," Robertson told Global News.

She kicked at her attacker before the two fell to the ground.

She was left with bruises, a sore scalp, and a large clump of missing hair.

The red shirts made the difference

The attacker fled with Robertson's phone.

It was later recovered after Robertson connected with members of the Downtown Kelowna Association's red-shirt on-call team.

The team managed to get a photo of the suspect, who was still in the area, and called police.

Robertson's daughter, Nina Harder, posted a photo of the suspect on social media.

RCMP say they located a suspect the day after the November 1 attack, and one person was taken into custody but has since been released.

Police say no charges have yet been laid, and the investigation is ongoing.

Caught, then released

That is the part of this story that should anger every Kelowna resident.

A woman is attacked in the middle of the day on a downtown sidewalk, a suspect is found, and the next thing the public hears is that the person is back on the street with no charges.

That is not a justice system working.

It is a revolving door, and everyone in Kelowna knows it.

Talk is cheap. Beds are not.

Robertson says she believes more needs to be done to address growing concerns around public safety.

"Like involuntary holding medical rooms, medical beds. They've talked about it, but it's not happening," Robertson said.

"It's time to push the boundaries a little more and try and demand some kind of action."

She is right, and the record backs her up.

Involuntary care beds have been discussed for years by politicians at every level, and the beds still are not there when they are needed.

Meanwhile, downtown business owners, workers, and residents deal with the consequences every single day.

Robertson's attack happened at 1 p.m. on a Sunday, in a busy part of downtown, to a woman who was simply waiting for a friend.

If that is not safe, nowhere in the core is safe, and no amount of reassuring statements changes that.

Kelowna does not need another round of promises about public safety.

It needs the treatment beds, the enforcement, and the consequences that Robertson is asking for, and it needed them yesterday.

Sources: Global News, November 5, 2026.