Iqaluit (Feb 13/06) - One cab driver is in custody and another is in the hospital after a stabbing outside of Northmart in Iqaluit, Feb. 7.

John Kavanaugh cleared the crowd away from the stabbing incident in front of Northmart on Feb. 7, then helped an off-duty RCMP officer apprehend the attacker. - Kent Driscoll/NNSL photo

According to one eyewitness, the victim was stabbed while he was sitting in his taxi.

"(The attacker) jumped out of his car. He walked to the other car, opened the driver's door, and started punching him," said John Kavanaugh, who would play a role in stopping the altercation.

The victim was still in his seat, and was trying to fend off the attacker by kicking, Kavanaugh said.

Kavanaugh estimates he was "six to 10 feet" away from the attacker when he saw the punching motion. That is when he realized that it wasn't a punching, it was a stabbing.

"That's when I noticed there was a knife in his hand and it was covered in blood," said Kavanaugh.

It is hard to miss John Kavanaugh, he is a large man, over six feet tall and more than 200 pounds.

The human response to fear is often described as "flight or fight"; either you run or you do something about it. Kavanaugh opted to act.

He parked in front of the attacker's car, to block his escape. Kavanaugh then got out of his vehicle and headed toward the front door of Northmart, keeping the vehicles between himself and the attacker.

"I just started yelling at him, I don't know what I was saying. I was telling people to call the RCMP, to call the ambulance," said Kavanaugh.

He distracted the attacker from his target, but now had the attention of a man with a blood stained blade.

Kavanaugh moved inside the front doors of the Northmart entrance, where there were spectators.

"I said 'Get in the store this guy has a knife.' People were crying. people were screaming," said Kavanaugh.

Kavanaugh cleared out the entrance, getting people to move inside the store with his booming voice.

"I was yelling so loud that the guys in the meat room could hear me," said Kavanaugh.

"Then he slams the knife down on the engine bonnet of the car. He looks at me and I'm all by myself, inside the doors," said Kavanaugh.

Discretion being the greater part of valour, Kavanaugh moved inside Northmart.

Inside the store, Kavanaugh spotted an off-duty RCMP officer. The two exited the store and approached the man with the knife.

Together they subdued the man. After the attacker was on the ground, another off-duty RCMP member arrived and assisted the pair.

RCMP, municipal enforcement and an ambulance were on the scene "in minutes" according to Kavanaugh.

He was holding the attackers legs while the officers took care of the upper body, until uniformed help arrived.

The ambulance returned empty as fellow cab drivers had already carted the victim off to the hospital.

After a few days of reflection, Kavanaugh is still shaken.

"I started to think about how serious this crime was. I couldn't really believe that I acted the way I did, without thinking. It was just a reaction to the action," said Kavanaugh two days after the altercation.

He said he is still haunted by the image of the blood covered blade.

RCMP describe the weapon as a six-inch fixed blade with a black handle. They say the victim was stabbed five times.

"Never in my life have I seen anything like that. I'm glad I've been working the past couple of nights, because it has been running though my mind. I see it every time I close my eyes," said Kavanaugh.

Cabbie on cabbie confrontations are nothing new for Iqaluit. Almost any resident can tell you a tale of two cab drivers arguing over a fare.

Usually, those are cases of a person calling two cabs instead of one, and getting into a cab that arrives earlier. The city is a competitive market for cab drivers.

RCMP are keeping tight-lipped about the attacker's motivation.

Mahamoud Ahmed Hersi, 49, has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault in connection to the attack.

He appeared in Nunavut court of justice on Friday.