HALIFAX — The woman charged with attempted murder in the stabbing Sunday of a six-year-old boy on a Halifax sidewalk had recently been arrested for an assault alleged to have occurred in late January.
Halifax Regional Police spokesman Const. Martin Cromwell told reporters Monday the boy was with his parents when he was stabbed. He was rushed to hospital with what police have described as life-threatening injuries, but Cromwell declined to comment further on his condition.
"This is a very, very tragic incident," Cromwell said of the stabbing. "The victim is a little boy."
Police were called at around 1:20 p.m. to Barrington Street just north of the busy downtown core, where a child had been found suffering from multiple stab wounds.
Cromwell said the suspect, 19-year-old Elliott Chorny, was arrested at the scene within minutes of police receiving the call. He said there's no evidence that Chorny knew the child, nor is there evidence that it was a hate crime.
Court documents show that Chorny is alleged to have assaulted a woman on Jan. 27 in Halifax. The charge was sworn last Tuesday. "The accused was known to police," Cromwell said. "To what degree, I would not be able to detail."
Cromwell also declined to say what police have learned about the moments leading up to the stabbing, but he acknowledged that there is a bus stop near where the stabbing took place. When asked if the child and his parents were waiting for a bus when the stabbing happened, Cromwell said he "can't say specifically what their intentions were."
Chorny, who is listed as having no fixed address, appeared in Halifax provincial court Monday afternoon to face charges of attempted murder and possession of a dangerous weapon. She was remanded to custody until her next court date on March 13.
She appeared to have a thin smile on her face as she was led into a courtroom, wearing grey sweatpants and a loose-fitting sweatshirt. Inside the courtroom, the slight young woman with stringy brown hair sat with her left hand over her mouth as she stared at the floor during most of the brief hearing. When she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper.
Provincial court Judge Alonzo Wright imposed a publication ban on the identity of the victim.
Outside the courtroom, Crown attorney Michael Coady would not comment when asked if the accused would be ordered to undergo a psychiatric assessment.
"The investigation is in its early stages and I'm not in a position to speak to her mental health at this point," he said, adding that the Crown would oppose her release if she sought bail. "These are very serious allegations and very tragic."
Last week, someone posting on a 4chan online message board said they were Elliott Chorny of Nova Scotia and shared a photo of a birth certificate with the same name and date of birth as the suspect. In the lengthy thread that included the picture of the birth certificate, the person described experiencing suicidal ideation, extreme distress and feeling as though they were possessed by Satan.
“It’s genuinely horrific to be possessed because I can feel the energy inside," they wrote on Feb. 17. "And it’s killing me on the inside, making me do evil. I will die tomorrow." It was one of more than 100 comments made by the same user between Monday and Wednesday of last week.
In another post, the user referred to "strangers in public" staring, laughing and yelling at them. "I am in immense pain," the person wrote.
The police are continuing to ask potential witnesses to come forward with any information they may have. They are also asking for dash-camera footage from cars that drove by at the time of the stabbing.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2025.
Lyndsay Armstrong and Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press
