Court hears motorist watched stabbing

Woman thought young men just ‘fooling around’

When [the witness] saw several young men run in front of her van in Chinook Centre’s southeast parking lot, spraying what she thought was orange paint, she thought they were just “fooling around”.  Seconds later, when her daughter saw another young man being stabbed, it became clear to [the witness] that a serious crime as in progress, she testified Monday at an attempted murder trial.  

“Then I saw one man leaned up against a car. He had his hands on a young man’s shoulders, pressed on the ground on his butt with his legs up,” said [the witness], who was at the mall with her daughter to see an early movie on the night of Dec. 29, 2005.

“One guy was kicking him,” she told Crown prosecutor Roy Smith.  [the witness] said she saw blood on a nearby car, and when she and her daughter stepped out of the van, they began coughing from the substance in the air. They called 911. Smith played the frantic, seven-minute call during the opening day of the two-week trial.

Later, witnesses testified they helped a man who had been stabbed in the chest and pepper-sprayed. They helped get him into the mall near Chapter’s bookstore for medical. [the accused] is on trial for attempted murder for allegedly stabbing [the victim]. He is also jointly charged and on trial with his brother and [another] on several other charges.  They are aggravated assault and assault with a weapon against [the victim], assault with a weapon on [the victim], and possession of a weapon - pepper spray - dangerous to the public.  

Smith said in his opening statement to the Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Rosemary Nation that identification of the assailants is one of the key issues. [A] registered nurse said she assisted the seriously wounded man until paramedics arrived. “I saw a gentleman staggering, holding is chest, and he appeared to be in distress. He was bleeding quite badly from his chest,” [the nurse] testified. “He kept asking me to make sure he doesn’t die. He was pleading, I assisted him to the floor.” She noted his face was red and his eyes were watering.

[the sergeant], who was off-duty that night, said he helped cut away the victim’s shirt and t-shirt, then noticed a large would on the right side of the man’s chest that was “bleeding quite profusely.” He also noticed cuts on the man’s left forearm and left hand. [the sergeant] said he found a can of pepper spray underneath the individual.

The trial continues today.