A 30-year-old woman stabbed multiple times in a seemingly random attack on Nanaimo’s picturesque waterfront Wednesday night is alive today because of bystanders who rushed to her defence, say police.
The attack occurred just after 10 p.m. on Nanaimo’s seawall path up from Maffeo Sutton Park. The victim was stabbed many times before bystanders risked their lives to stop the attack and wrestle a young man to the ground.
“We believe the only reason the victim survived is because of five bystanders who jumped in and stopped the attack,” said Nanaimo RCMP Const. Gary O’Brien. “Because of their actions they most likely saved her life.”
An intensive investigation is in the preliminary stages but police do not believe there is any connection between the victim and suspect.
“It appears to be random but we will follow up,” said O’Brien.
The bystanders who stopped the attack subsequently applied pressure to the victim’s gaping wounds until B.C. Ambulance paramedics arrived while others kept the attacker pinned down on the ground until police arrived, said O’Brien.
“Our waterfront is extremely safe and a random attack is extremely rare not only in our community but in any community,” said O’Brien. “We are really disturbed by this.”
A 17-year-old suspect with connections to Nanaimo and the Lower Mainland is in custody and will face a judicial bail hearing today, said O’Brien.
Police will not say whether the suspect is known to police or where he resides.
- Cindy E. Harnett, Times Colonist
