The community of Campbell River, B.C., is rallying in support of a young father who was stabbed while his family says he was trying to help an overdose victim.
Colin Dube-Wheat’s cousin told Global News that Dube-Wheat was heading home through downtown Campbell River early on the morning of July 14 when he heard someone calling for help.
“Someone called and said, ‘Help, Help! Someone’s overdosing!’ So he was going towards a person on the ground to help them, and he was stabbed twice in the chest,” Jen Fyfe said.
“He got airlifted to Victoria General (Hospital) where a surgeon saved his life. He had a hole in his heart and in his lung.”
Fyfe said the 21-year-old was moved from the ICU in Victoria to the hospital in Campbell River, from which he was discharged on Saturday.
He is now recovering at home, but due to the nature of his injury has been told not to use his arms for anything serious for weeks.
“I mean he’s young, he survived something that so many people wouldn’t and so I think things are looking really positive, that he’s going to be OK, but it’s just going to take time healing,” Fyfe said.
The Campbell River RCMP’s Major Crime Unit is investigating the stabbing.
“At this point in the investigation there is no indication that there is a danger to the public at large,” Const. Maury Tyre said in a media release Monday.
Dube-Wheat, who lives with his fiancé and two-year-old daughter in Campbell River, has lived through a string of recent tragedies.
Within the last year, his younger brother recently died and he lost a family dog and a number of personal items in a fire at his father’s house.
Fyfe said her cousin and his partner both work-full time and are renters, and now face financial hardship due to his injury and their need for child care. She has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help the couple stay afloat.
“This is going to get financially hard for them really quick,” she said. “We’re trying to stay ahead of what kinds of things are ahead of them.”
So far, the fundraiser for Dube-Wheat and his family has raised more than $15,000, triple the initial $5,000 goal.
Fyfe added that she has heard of several stabbings in downtown Campbell River, and hopes that her cousin’s experience is a wake-up call for the community.
“I felt like throwing up. My husband is a career firefighter and helps people every day who have overdosed, and hearing that was really alarming,” she said.
“I feel like our community needs to know what happened, because I don’t think downtown is safe.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Campbell River RCMP at 250-286-6221.