Four stabbings reported to RCMP
Police seek suspects while warning public not to intervene if they witness crime in progress
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
There have been four stabbings and a robbery involving a firearm in the city over the past few weeks, according to a news release from the RCMP on Tuesday.
The alleged crimes occurred between Oct. 27 and Nov. 13. Suspects are still being sought, police stated. No descriptions were available at press time.
"We do not have suspects identified in the incidents, so cannot speculate as to whether one or more persons was involved or not," stated RCMP spokesperson Marie York-Condon in an e-mail to Yellowknifer. "We also do not have any information that indicates these incidents are related."
It wasn't clear how serious the injuries were to those who had been stabbed or whether they had been hospitalized.
Police offered a timeline of events in the news release, beginning with a person getting stabbed with a weapon downtown on Oct. 27.
The same person was robbed the following day. Police state the robbery was reported Nov. 10 and a suspect in the stabbing and robbery arrested the same day.
Charges are pending against the unnamed person. The news release didn't state what those charges may be.
Also on Sunday, police and paramedics were at Fort Gary Apartments on Gitzel Street around 6:30 a.m. where another person was reportedly stabbed. Later that afternoon, police were called about two additional stabbings at a downtown apartment building.
Investigations are continuing and police have asked the public to provide them any information about the crimes.
"We do not believe that the general public is at an increased risk, however, it is always advisable to be aware of your surroundings and to not become involved in any incident you may witness," York-Condon stated in the news release, adding people should instead call police.
Data RCMP provide monthly to city council shows an increase in all types of assaults when compared to the same period last year. Between January and the end of September, there were 663 compared to 560 over the same period in 2015.
Looked at over the past five years, however, the number of reported assaults appears to be trending down. There were a total of 1,396 in 2011, 1,260 in 2012, 1,254 in 2013, 853 in 2014 and 766 last year.
