An alcohol-fuelled knife fight in Gold River Saturday night left one man seriously injured and two men in police custody.
Nootka Sound RCMP received a call around 11:30 p.m. about a fight in progress at the Garden Apartments at 450 Maquinna Crescent, said detachment commander Sgt. Chris McGee.
When Mounties arrived, they found a man unresponsive on the ground, suffering from stab wounds.
Officers arrested two men trying to flee the area and found that one of the men had also been stabbed.
Investigators believe the men were drinking together at a party when an argument broke out.
“An altercation quickly escalated to an extremely violent situation,” McGee said.
Mounties believe one of the two suspects was stabbed first and subsequently retaliated against the victim.
There were about six witnesses, all of whom were co-operative with police, McGee said.
“This is a small, quiet community, something like this doesn’t happen very often,” McGee said.
The victim, in critical condition, was airlifted to Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria. The injured suspect was also treated at Royal Jubilee and was subsequently taken into custody by West Shore RCMP. He remains in custody pending a bail hearing Wednesday.
The other man arrested was released on conditions.
Both have been charged with aggravated assault but RCMP have not yet released their names.
Nootka Sound RCMP is asking anyone who witnessed the stabbing or has information to call them at 250-283-2227, or anonymously through Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
