One man is dead and two people are in custody after what appears to be a random stabbing in a Nanaimo park on Monday night, part of what the Mayor Leonard Krog calls an “unprecedented” string of violence in the city.
Nanaimo RCMP were initially called about a group of youths who were intimidating a security guard on the waterfront in the downtown area.
The suspects ran off and while officers were conducting a search the stabbing victim was spotted — along with his friend, who had been pepper-sprayed — in Maffeo Sutton Park. The two men had not yet been able to call 911, police said.
B.C. Ambulance Service paramedics took the stabbing victim, a 29-year-old man, to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The 22-year-old man who had been pepper-sprayed did not require hospitalization.
A 19-year-old man was arrested nearby and a 17-year-old male youth was arrested a short time later with help from a police dog.
A third person has been identified but has not yet been located.
No charges have been laid.
A witness said she was in a car in the parking lot when she heard a commotion. “Lots of screaming, yelling. I couldn’t articulate what anyone was saying but the high-pitched screaming did not sound good. It sounded like somebody was being hurt,” Bryana Kelly told CHEK News.
Police believe there was no connection between the victim and the attackers before the incident, which took place about 11:30 p.m.
The playground, walking bridge and beach area of the park remained closed to the public Tuesday, while the washrooms stayed open and the day ferry to Newcastle Island was temporarily relocated to the public crab dock.
Krog called the stabbing “a horrific incident.”
“As mayor, I’m saddened to see this,” he said. “We have seen a number of homicides in the city in the last 18 months. The RCMP are stretched, and it’s not the Nanaimo that I know.”
The situation is having a definite effect in the community, Krog said.
“There certainly is a level of concern and a high level of stress in the RCMP, who are having to deal with this,” he said.
Krog said his thoughts are with the family of the victim. “We have a justice system and I hope its wheels move quickly.”
Nanaimo RCMP ask anyone with information to call them at 250-754-2345.
