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
'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
5 charged in Calgary kidnappings that targeted women
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.
Woman, 18, killed by co-worker's vehicle on Highway 1 in Moose Jaw
Moose Jaw police say an 18-year-old woman who was at work has died from injuries she sustained in a collision with a vehicle being driven by her co-worker last Thursday.