Suspect in Kingston knife attack named, described as a ‘good kid’ with demons

The man who died after allegedly stabbing two people and himself in downtown Kingston has been identified.

A friend and a family member both told Global News the 22-year-old suspect was Evan Freeman.

They said Freeman had previously lived in Brockville, Ont., before moving to Kingston recently.

On Saturday, the Special Investigations Unit said Freeman’s family had consented to releasing his name.

On Thursday, a 22-year-old man died after attacking two people at the corner of Queen and Bagot streets in downtown Kingston, according to the SIU. The suspect was shot by police before he reportedly began stabbing himself in the throat. SIU says he was then struck by another police officer’s conducted energy weapon.

One of the two victims, a 40-year-old man friends have identified as Christopher Barry, died from injuries sustained in the stabbing.

The second victim, an 82-year-old man, named Terry Stafford, survived the attack. Kingston police Chief Antje McNeely says the senior was discharged from hospital on Friday.

It’s unclear if any of the three men knew each other, but McNeely says police are treating the incident as a random attack.

The suspect was caught on video stabbing one person and afterwards being shot by a police officer. An edited version of this video was published by Global News, but the entire video has been circulating widely across the internet.

The family member, whom Global News has chosen not to identify out of respect for their privacy, says they have spoken with members of the SIU and confirmed the man in the video was indeed Freeman.

WATCH: Witness describes brutal stabbing incident in downtown Kingston

1:02 Witness describes brutal stabbing incident in downtown Kingston

Devon Kerr, who now lives in Prescott, Ont., says he’s been best friends with Freeman since they were both 15 years old. He said he recognized Freeman instantly when he saw the video.

Kerr said he was shocked to see his friend involved in the violent stabbing, since – as he put it – Freeman was “never like that.”

“I’m pretty angry, but also sad, because this could have gone a different way,” Kerr told Global News.

Kerr said Freeman has a criminal record, but would not go into detail about his previous convictions. Kerr also declined to comment on whether Freeman had a history of drug abuse.

Despite Freeman’s apparent violent crime, Kerr said he wanted people to know that Freeman’s alleged attack was out of character.

“I want people to know he wasn’t just some monster,” Kerr told Global News. “He was a good kid, just had a lot of demons.”

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Neither Kingston police or the SIU would confirm the victim’s identity from Thursday’s stabbing.

The SIU not yet released details on the suspect’s cause of death. An autopsy was scheduled to be completed on Friday.