Two knife attacks in the past week in Victoria are concerning but don’t appear to be related, say police.
On Tuesday morning, a 20-year-old Victoria man was attacked by a knife-wielding man near Sumas Street and Manchester Road; the botched robbery fortunately left the victim with only superficial injuries, said VicPD Const. Mike Russell.
“We certainly don’t see these stranger-on-stranger attacks often,” he said. “But it is certainly cause for concern. We sent a lot of resources out there looking for the suspect, but to no avail.”
The suspect is described as between 40 to 50 years old, 5-foot-8 with a stocky build, grey moustache and grey hair. At the time of the attack, he was wearing a grey sweatshirt and a white baseball cap covered with dried paint.
Another violent attack with a knife occurred Nov. 23 overnight, when a 26-year-old man was stabbed multiple times in the 700-block of Johnson St. The victim required surgery for non-life threatening injuries.
“We don’t know any motivation behind the Saturday attack, and it’s still unknown to us if it was stranger-on-stranger, or if the victim and suspect might have been known to each other,” Russell said.
The victim hasn’t yet been able to provide an accurate description of the attacker, he added.
“Right now, we’re proceeding as if these two events are unrelated because there’s not anything firmly drawing a link between the two,” Russell said.
According to VicPD’s crime reports online map, there have been 11 assaults with a deadly weapon in the past month in Victoria. Russell said the crime category captures a variety of criminal acts ranging from domestic assault to threatening behaviour between acquaintances.
“An assault with a weapon doesn’t necessarily mean I hit you with a baseball bat. But if I threatened to hit you with a baseball bat, that charge (assault with a deadly weapon) is still applicable,” he said.
Anyone with information about either incident is asked to call VicPD on the non-emergency line at 250-995-7654 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).