Amanda Vaughan
Northern News Services
Published Friday, September 28, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The second of the victims in a weekend stabbing incident was released from hospital Wednesday, and his father is wondering why a knife was involved.

"A person should really think twice before they do something like that," the shocked father, who did not wish to be named, told Yellowknifer.

His son and two friends were involved in an altercation early last Saturday morning that sent two of the three men to hospital with serious stab wounds. A 17-year-old suspect faces assault and weapons charges.

"It's just sad that somebody felt they had to pull out a knife," the father said, noting that one of the victims was stabbed in the neck.

The father, whose son was the man that was stabbed in the abdomen, hopes other people who might find themselves in a similar situation would "think again, before they do something they regret."

He said that he had spoken to the parents of the other victims, who felt, like him, that their boys were "good kids, who weren't out looking for trouble."

He acknowledged, however, that the young suspect's parents likely felt the same way about their son, and he expressed his sympathy to their situation.

"In a situation like this, they are victims too, and my heart goes out to them" he said, adding that "raising kids isn't easy."

In spite of the sadness and confusion that the incident has sparked, the father said he and the parents of the other wounded man were also just glad to still have their sons, given the nature of the injuries.

Being stabbed in the neck and the abdomen are "dangerous injuries" and he felt it was more than just luck that helped them.

"It was almost a divine intervention," he said.

The young suspect was in court on Tuesday for a show cause hearing, and was released into the care of his parents.

He will be appearing in court again in mid-October.