It didn’t take long for police to make an arrest in a double stabbing at the University of Winnipeg Thursday evening.
Officers said a 19-year-old man was inside the downtown university at 8:20 p.m. when another man tried to take his laptop, he then took his phone and stabbed the teen in the upper body.
“It is a random attack,” Const. Tammy Skrabek with the Winnipeg Police Service said. “He wasn’t a student so we don’t know what the purpose was to be there other than looking to rob someone.”
The suspect then walked away but people who saw the attack confronted the man. Police said that was when another person was stabbed.
Air-1 was quickly alerted of the attacks and spotted the suspect. Officers in the helicopter were able to coordinate with the canine unit on the ground to find the suspect hiding in a yard in the 600 block of Maryland Avenue.
The first person stabbed suffered minor injuries. The second person was taken to hospital in stable condition and was later released.
Skrabek said the first reaction for witnesses to a crime like this should be to call police.
“Try not to confront these (suspects),” Const. Skrabek said.”It’s not worth the injury.”
While this was a random attack, she said it could happen in other locations around the city.
“The university is one of the places that is open to the public during day and evening hours,” Const. Skrabek said. “They don’t necessarily control who enters and exits so just like a shopping mall this type of attack can generally happen in any of the common areas.”
She said students should be aware of the security phone number for the university. They should also let others know if they will be alone in the university after hours and where they will be.
Justin Michael Henderson, 28, from Winnipeg was arrested and charged with the following offences.
· Robbery X2
· Assault with a Weapon X2
· Possess Weapon
· Utter Threats