Suspect in custody following random downtown attacks that injured 4 people: Calgary police
Calgary police say they have a suspect in custody following four violent incidents in the downtown core early Friday morning.
The arrest came after a quartet of incidents the police characterized as random attacks at different downtown locations that started at 3:15 a.m. and continued through the early hours of the morning.
No other details about the suspect were released.
"We continue to believe these attacks were random and we have not identified a clear motive,” Supt. Cliff O'Brien said. “There is no common theme among the victims that investigators have zeroed in on at this time.”
The first victim used a emergency button at the Fourth Street CTrain Station to call for help at around 3:15 a.m. saying he had been slashed by a machete.
About 90 minutes later, a second victim was found unconscious in a bus shelter at Sixth Avenue and First Street S.W.
The victims were taken to hospital in serious condition and in life-threatening condition respectively. O'Brien said Friday afternoon that both men had undergone surgery and remained in hospital.
Also at around 4 a.m., police say a third victim was found in the 1000 block of Sixth Avenue S.W. He said he had been knocked unconscious and woke up a short time later.
Police say the man had minor injuries and didn't need to be taken to hospital.
The fourth victim was found at around the same time near the Peace Bridge. Police said he was taken to hospital with injuries to his hand, but has since been released.
"There are still some victims that we still have to interview," O'Brien said
The police investigation caused CTrain service in the downtown core to be disrupted for several hours.
O'Brien said the investigation was “dynamic” and a “resource-intensive time period” for the Calgary Police Service.
"During this incident we had 21 patrol units, we had HAWCS, we had canine units, as well as investigative units, as well as surveillance units … who were all working in a coordinated way to attempt to locate the suspect," O'Brien said.
"If an immediate public warning was needed for a prolonged period of time in relation to this incident, we certainly would have made every effort to get this information out.
"There are legitimate questions, as well, about us not releasing further details on the suspect. This was held back in an attempt for our officers across the city to make headway and to follow up on investigative leads that were coming in as well as collect evidence from those multiple scenes and from across several downtown blocks,” O'Brien added.
"After the initial series of incidents there was no additional indicators that further attacks were occurring and it is believed, based on the evidence, that the suspect had fled.”
Police are in the process of reviewing CCTV footage.
Anyone with information about the attacks is asked to call the CPS non-emergency line at 403-266-1234 or to contact Crime Stoppers anonymously.
The intersection of Seventh Avenue and Third Street S.W. was closed to vehicles and pedestrians following a pair of Friday morning attacks that sent two men to hospital.
‘I DON’T FEEL SAFE’: CALGARIANS REACT TO DOWNTOWN STABBINGS
CTV Calgary spoke with several people who live in the area of the attacks, who say pockets of homeless people are getting pushed out of the neighbourhood and have nowhere to sleep.
“There’s a lot of drinking and fighting and women being attacked," Andie Wolf Leg said. "You can hear them screaming and crying in the night on the CTrain when I go home.
“I come from the street so I’m a lot more calm about it, but I don’t feel safe. The police department needs to hire Indigenous mental health workers.”
Wolf Leg added that a police station should be brought back to the downtown core in an effort to prevent further violent incidents like this from happening.
“I prefer the police to be on the downtown streets, to have a street station downtown. If all they have is transit police patrolling it’s just not a deterrence anymore.”
Others like Yuzhi Tian agreed that the downtown needs better enforcement.
“Just in case something like this happens, we need first responders here so they can come as soon as possible. It’s just really scary, because what if someone gets injured really badly and dies?" said Tian.
Anthony Jacobs was walking near the crime scene Friday morning. He told CTV News he has never seen such extreme violence in Calgary during his 20 years living in the city.
“I think this is alarming. I’m not blaming anybody but I must say that the city, people, community, and police need to come together to find a solution,” he said.
In response to calls for a downtown police station, O'Brien said those kinds of decisions "are not made by the police service."
"Those are decisions made by council and the police commission," he said.
He said even if Friday's attacks were to have occurred elsewhere in the city, the approach they used would have been the same.
"Those 21 patrol officers – we pulled them from around the city to go into downtown to help the District 1 patrol officers. We'll respond wherever we need to respond in the manner that we need to respond, regardless of what facility we're working out of."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Still so much love between us,' Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Trump's lawyers grill ex-tabloid publisher as 1st week of hush money trial testimony nears a close
After prosecutors' lead witness painted a tawdry portrait of “catch-and-kill” tabloid schemes, defence lawyers in Donald Trump's criminal trial on Friday sought to dig into an account of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election.