A man is facing a number of charges, including attempted murder, after a taxi driver was stabbed in what Edmonton police are calling a random, violent attack.
The cab driver picked up two passengers in the area of 161 Avenue and 124 Street shortly after 6 p.m. on April 19, Edmonton police said on Thursday.
The woman got out of the cab in the area of 172 Street and 104 Avenue, while the man continued on, asking the driver to stop at a number of other locations.
Just before 8 p.m., police said the passenger suddenly attacked the driver several times with an “edged weapon.”
Adam Sawaryn and Will Gunderson were walking in the area when they saw the cab skid to a halt.
“We saw that there was a struggle going on, there was arms flailing, things like that,” Sawaryn said.
“We ran over, we saw a knife, quickly backed up and called 911.
“About 10 seconds later, we went back to see what was going on, opened up the door, Will jumped in, was able to get the knife off the guy. I ran over to the driver’s side of the car, was able to pick up the knife, throw it into the trees.
“From there, I helped drag him out of the car … and Will tried to administer first aid to the cab driver and police were there probably within a minute,” Sawaryn said.
“It was so fast. There was so much blood. I wasn’t sure if he was really OK or not.”
Gunderson estimated the cab driver was maybe in his 60s or 70s. He said he had inch-long cuts on his hands and a gash on his neck.
EMS responded and took the cab driver to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Gunderson said after four hours in the emergency room, the cab driver was released.
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“This attack was completely random and unprovoked,” Acting Staff Sgt. Kevin Brookes said. “The two citizens who assisted undoubtedly prevented further, serious injuries to the cab driver and likely saved his life.”
Gunderson doesn’t think he and his friend deserve that much credit.
Neither Good Samaritan regrets stepping in, despite the risk.
“Besides maybe preventing some of his injuries? None,” Gundersen said. “Something needed to be done … I wish we could have acted faster.
“I don’t know how I would feel if the cab driver had passed away. I feel bad that he got hurt probably more than he should have,” he added. “If he had passed away because I didn’t intervene or help, that would make me feel terrible.”
“I always like to think I’d do something to help,” Sawaryn said. “It really did cross my mind: You need to be one of those people that does help.”
“When you go through something like that, there’s no perfect way to handle it … I think we’re all happy that the cab driver is alive, the guy’s in custody and we’re fine as well.”
Sawaryn was surprised by how young the suspect seemed to be.
“He was saying sorry. He seemed frightened.”
Brady Alook, 19, is facing eight charges, including attempted murder, aggravated assault and possession of a weapon, as well as several outstanding warrants.
At the time of the alleged offence, Alook was out on bail on a number of charges, including housebreak, assault with a weapon and attempted vehicle theft. He had also been previously convicted of assault with a weapon and failure to attend court.
Police thanked the two men who intervened, but also reminded Edmontonians to call police immediately after witnessing a crime for their own safety.
Global News has confirmed that Alook is the same man who was charged after a brazen attempt to steal a truck outside a west Edmonton Subway restaurant at the end of January.
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The owner of the Subway called police and reported seeing a man inside his truck “frantically trying to hotwire it” on Jan. 29.
A man grabbing lunch at the time started taking video. At one point, four police officers were around the vehicle trying to get the suspect to get out of the car. When the man exited the vehicle, police used a Taser before placing him in handcuffs.
Police said they believed the man was under the influence of drugs at the time and he was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
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In connection with that incident, Alook was charged with attempted theft of a motor vehicle, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public, possessing break-and-enter tools, possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest and breach of recognizance.
— With files from Global’s Sarah Kraus