A teenage girl is recovering after being stabbed multiple times on Sunday afternoon at a church in Winkler, Man.
Officers were called to the Pembina Valley Baptist Church around 1 p.m. and found a 15-year-old girl from the Winkler area with a number of stab wounds.
Winkler police said she was stabbed in the back and stomach in the church washroom. She was rushed to the Boundary Trails Health Centre before being airlifted to a Winnipeg hospital by STARS Air Ambulance. She remains in stable condition.
Officers arrested a 39-year-old man in the church parking lot. Police named the accused as Maksym Kravchenko from Winkler. He faces charges of aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
“We have been unable to determine a motive for the incident,” Winkler Police Chief Rick Hiebert said. “The accused has not been cooperative in offering any assistance in that matter at all.”
WATCH: Ongoing coverage from Winkler, Man.
The victim and suspect are not known to each other according to police.
A post on the Pembina Valley Baptist Church by Pastor Michael Sullivan said the suspect was not a member of the congregation.
“Approximately 12:55 p.m. (about 30 minutes) after our church service let out, a man entered our facility and went into the ladies washroom and injured one of our young ladies. He immediately exited the buildings and went and sat in a car.”
The Pastor said two nurses were already inside the church and immediately went to help the teen.
The church said its security camera captured footage of the man entering and exiting the building and that video has been handed to police.