Children play as large amounts of snow fall in Toronto
Children play as large amounts of snow fall in Toronto December 11, 2014. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

A 6-year-old Canadian girl was critically assaulted by a man who was arrested soon after. The incident took place at a First Nation reserve in Alberta.

The RCMP, who were called to a Paul First Nation property at 4:30 p. on Saturday, found the girl critical with "life-threatening" wounds. The girl was rushed to the University of Alberta Hospital via STARS Air Ambulance. The girl is found to be in stable condition at the moment even though she is still critical. The incident was described by police as a "serious assault," CTV News reported. However, the details of the girl's wounds were not disclosed. Nor were the circumstances involving the assault revealed. According to a STARS spokesperson, the injuries of the girl were related to "blunt trauma."

The girl was reportedly tobogganing with other children during the Saturday afternoon. She, however, left the group of children when she was told that she should go home to change into dry clothes. CBC News reported that the child had thereafter been found naked in the snow by the members of her family. She was attacked as well as brutally beaten. It is reported that the girl was so severely beaten that the members of her family could not recognise her at first. Investigators from major crimes unit of the Edmonton Police Service and the RCMP cordoned off a wide area of the reserve on Sunday, surrounding the area where the girl had been discovered. Investigators reportedly gathered evidence from a gas station close to the crime scene.

The Paul First Nation issued a formal statement on behalf of the girl's family. "We trust the family's wishes will be fully respected so they can focus all of their energy, attention and prayers on the victim's immediate well-being and what we are all hoping and praying will be a speedy and full recovery," the statement said. The First Nation's Baptist church offered prayers for the young victim on Sunday. Pastor Dan Crumbaugh said that the incident made people realise that such things could happen to anyone at any time. Elder James Rein knew the young child. He said that the community had been "rocked" by the incident.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au