Northern News Services
Wednesday, May 30, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - A 50-year-old man living in an apartment complex on 52 Avenue was taken to hospital early Saturday morning after he was stabbed in the abdomen by his 54-year-old common-law wife, according to police.

RCMP first responded to the scene after a neighbour living in the same apartment called the authorities.

"The victim had exited his own apartment and knocked on the neighbour's door and asked for assistance," said Const. Roxanne Dreilich.

Police found the man outside the building, bleeding from his abdomen. His injuries were not serious, however, and he was released from the hospital Monday.

"The man indicated that he didn't want any action taken against the suspect, but he did make utterances to the RCMP that his spouse had done it," said Dreilich.

"In some domestic situations, it certainly plays a part in the decision of victims to come forward with full information."

Student discipline

Charges are pending against a student, approximately 13-years-old, who assaulted his teacher at school on May 14.

The name of the youth cannot be revealed under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The teacher was not seriously hurt, but the investigation continues and charges will be determined upon further review of the teacher's statement.

Something to address

Two men who became embroiled in a violent confrontation outside the Elks Lounge three weeks ago were related, said Const. Dreilich.

The 42-year-old who sustained serious injuries to his head and remains in hospital in Edmonton is the uncle of his assailant, a 34-year-old man who has been charged with aggravated assault.

After initially reporting this incident, Yellowknifer received phone calls from two separate individuals indicating that the victim and the accused were both from Lutsel K'e and not Ndilo and Behchoko as reported earlier. Police say, however, that according to their information, the victim is from Ndilo and the accused is from Behchoko.

"Those are the addresses we have on record," said Dreilich.

"The address we have on record for the person charged is from last fall. It's possible he's moved and that may not be the most up-to-date address."

Civilian rushes injured man to hospital

Several bylaw and RCMP vehicles responded to the area of Gitzel Street and Franklin Avenue, May 24 at around 6:45 p.m. after bylaw received multiple reports from motorists about an erratic driver.

The ensuing investigation revealed that the driver was "panicked and driving as fast as he could" because he was transporting a passenger who had sustained an injury to his hand, said Dreilich.

The vehicle was never in the sight of bylaw or the RCMP and was later found at hospital.

Dreilich said the RCMP encourages people to call an ambulance for the safety of the injured person and other motorists.

Lost and found

During the week of May 14 to May 21, the RCMP reported 10 incidents of people going missing, only to turn up shortly after.

Asked what accounted for this curious pattern, Dreilich said, "For the most part, these are people who are travelling home from somewhere and were overdue. The people expecting them home get worried. But the person eventually arrives home.

"There are a lot of youths under foster care who have a curfew, and if they don't come home before a certain time, their foster parents are required to report it. Many of them are repeat offenders, but there's nothing for us to enforce."

Good samaritan victim of assault

A 27-year-old man was the victim of an assault outside the Gold Range early Saturday morning after becoming involved in a heated argument between another man and woman, both of whom he knew.

The victim had attempted to intervene on behalf of the woman.

It was when the victim asked the woman to leave the scene with him that the suspect attacked the victim, striking him in the head and face several times.

The 34-year-old assailant was arrested at the scene and has been charge with assault.

The victim did not seek medical attention, though he suffered some cuts and bruising to his face.

Downtown thefts

The investigation continues into three incidents of businesses being broken into last week.

Businesses in the Centre Square Mall, the Stanton Plaza and the Scotia Centre were all the victims of theft on different days. In each case, a small amount of cash was taken from the cash register.

"Four business break-and-enters" - a fourth one took place at Videoland on Old Airport Road - "is not unusual," said Dreilich. "We have seen that in the past. What was strange was that there were no such incidents the previous week."

Three strikes

A 25-year-old woman was struck twice in the face by her 41-year-old common-law spouse in their residence on May 18, according to police.

RCMP say the man also assaulted two other visiting female relatives of the woman.

The woman did not sustain any injuries that required medical attention.

An RCMP press release stated that police did not know what caused the altercation or if alcohol was involved in the incident.

"Oftentimes alcohol is involved and can be an aggravating factor," said Dreilich.

A charge against the man is pending as the investigation continues.