Two random stabbings injure three men at Polo Park – Winnipeg Free Press

Two random stabbing incidents, one at the Polo Park mall and the other at a buskura across the street, sent three people to the hospital on Tuesday.

Crave jewelry store employee Heather Miller was working a regular weekday shift when she, around 10 p.m.

“I was helping a customer and then there was yelling. The next thing I knew, I see one of the (victims) tackle a guy and then security came running,” she said Wednesday. “Then one of the victims said ‘ I have the knife. I have taken the knife from him.”

Police said the male victims were aged 46 and 48.

Miller said they had been sitting on a set of sofas outside the store when the attack took place. She saw blood on them and the suspect after police and security broke up the altercation.

Officers dispatched to Polo Park found the suspect being restrained by mall security staff and the victims, the Winnipeg Police Service said.

Investigators learned that a suspect had approached and confronted the victims before pulling out a knife. Both victims were stabbed in the “upper body” during the argument, the police said.

Two knives were seized.

The attack is believed to be random and the victims and suspect did not know each other, Const. Claude Chancy said Wednesday.

Both victims were taken to the hospital in stable condition.

A 20-year-old Winnipeg man faces two charges each of assault and failure to comply with conditions of release, and one count of possession of a weapon. He was released on a bond under the Criminal Code, police said.

Tehya Bolduc, who works at L’Occitane En Provence, which is upstairs where the stabbing took place, saw police and paramedics in the area, and later yellow tape was put up to cordon off the mall’s eastern corridor.

“The city has just been kind of weird in general, so I think I just have an overall sense of just being more aware,” she said. “I tell my employees to just be careful, and if there’s anybody weird in here, I’ll just tell them to just leave the store.”

The mall was busy with shoppers Wednesday afternoon as security guards were seen periodically walking around the mall.

Hours later, a 19-year-old man was stabbed at a bus basket at the southwest corner of Portage Avenue and Tylehurst Street, across the street from the mall’s main entrance. Police were called at around 10.30pm and found a 19-year-old man suffering from serious “upper body” injuries.

Officers provided the man with emergency medical care, including applying a chest seal. He was taken to the hospital in unstable condition and later upgraded to stable.

Officers, including members of the canine unit and tactical support team, searched the area when witnesses pointed out where the suspects were heading. Two suspects were found hiding under a structure on the 1500 block of Wolseley Avenue West.

Adrian Eliazer Murdock, 24, and Kay-Lei Margaret Fontaine, 30, were charged with three offences, including possession of a weapon. Murdock is charged with assault causing bodily harm and violation of probation, while Fontaine is charged with possession of a controlled substance and failure to comply with a probation order.

Court records show the accused has convictions for robbery and weapons-related offenses. They were detained in custody.

Miller said the attacks don’t bother her, given other incidents at the mall in recent years.

In January, a 15-year-old boy was robbed and stabbed in Polo Park, sending him to hospital in an unstable condition. It was the third time in nine months that a young person had been the victim of an armed robbery in the city’s largest shopping centre.

CF Polo Park did not respond to requests for comment.

Chancy advised customers to remain aware of their surroundings and report suspicious activity to the police.

“Just the fact that there’s going to be a lot more patrons, not just in malls, in malls or stand-alone stores, almost helps as a deterrent to people who want to commit these crimes on unsuspecting people,” he said.

Miller said security at the mall is increased on weekends and during the holiday season. If an incident occurs, her store’s protocol is to escort customers out, lock the doors and call security.

— with files from Malak Abas and Dean Pritchard

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