A 28-year-old man is facing two counts of aggravated assault after two separate stabbing incidents on Friday and Sunday, both of which involved people the suspect did not know and occurred during daylight hours.
Police in London, Ont., say a man was approached from behind while out walking with a relative on a trail in the area of Baseline Road West and Emery Street West, east of Beachwood Avenue, just after 7:30 p.m. Friday. Police say the suspect stabbed the victim “multiple times” and then fled on foot.
The victim took himself to hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries. Police “were notified of the incident later that evening” and were unable to find the suspect after searching the area.
On Sunday, a man out walking his dog in the area of Baseline Road West and Beachwood Avenue was approached by a stranger and stabbed “multiple times” at roughly 3:20 p.m. Again, the suspect fled on foot.
In that case, the victim called 911 and was taken to hospital by paramedics with serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Police say officers found the suspect in the 400 block of Beachwood Avenue, just east of Westminster Secondary School. The suspect was reportedly arrested without incident and officers seized a weapon but police would not state what kind of weapon was seized.
Investigators say the two stabbings involved the same suspect and say in both cases “the accused and victims were not known to each other.”
Police would not comment on a possible motive for the stabbings or say whether they were considered “random,” saying only that “any additional information will come out through the court process.”