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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A 49-year-old Yellowknife man is in serious condition in an Edmonton hospital after suffering a head injury on New Year's Day.

A 15-year-old youth, also from Yellowknife, has been charged with aggravated assault in relation to the incident.

RCMP responded at around 5 p.m. on Jan. 1 after receiving a call about a man suffering from a head injury at a residence in the Range Lake area. The man was then airlifted to an Edmonton hospital where he is currently listed in serious condition.

"It was upgraded from critical but stable to serious condition," said RCMP Const. Kathy Law.

"As far as we know there was not a party going on. It was an altercation between two males. One of them was an adult and the other was a youth," she said.

"It ended in one of the males receiving a head injury."

The two individuals were known to each other but Law said police could not say if they were related in order to protect the identity of the youth.

Initially two men, including the 15-year-old, were arrested on the scene. The second man was later released without charge

The youth appeared in court Tuesday, where it was heard the weapon used to hit the man was a "large, heavy stick," according to Crown prosecutor Janice Walsh. The youth was released into his aunt's custody following his court appearance. His release conditions included a ban on firearms, an order to appear at the RCMP detachment three times a week and to have no contact with the complainant. His next court date is set for Feb. 2.