A shooting in Winnipeg left a woman with life-altering injuries over the weekend, and while the accused — her boyfriend — was arrested, he faces an aggravated assault charge, not something more serious.

A local criminal defence lawyer says intent is the key factor when it comes to charging a suspect with a higher charge, like attempted murder, and it’s often an uphill battle for prosecutors.

Scott Newman told Global Winnipeg that getting a conviction for attempted murder is often hampered by the difficulty of proving what a suspect was thinking.

“It can be very hard to prove intent — we’re not mind-readers,” Newman said.

“Nobody can look inside people’s hearts and know what they were thinking at the time that offence occurred.”

The main difference between aggravated assault and attem

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