A Manitoba community is reeling after a brutal mass stabbing left an 18-year-old woman dead and seven others injured in the early hours of Thursday, Sept. 4.
The attack happened in the Hollow Water First Nation, a tight-knit Anishinaabe community about 120 miles northeast of Winnipeg, according to CBC News. Police have identified the suspect as 26-year-old Tyrone Simard, the victim’s brother, who also died after fleeing the scene.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said multiple people between the ages of 18 and 60 were taken to the hospital with stab wounds. Among the injured is Michael Raven, whose children told CBC News he was asleep at home when the attacker broke in and stabbed him multiple times before striking him in the head with a bottle. “He’s conscious, awake and talking,” his daughter Christy Williams shared.
Simard reportedly stole a car to escape but crashed head-on into an RCMP officer responding to the attack. Authorities confirmed the officer sustained critical injuries but is expected to recover.
Officials have described the incident as a “senseless act of violence” and say they are still piecing together what led up to the attack. “Our officers are gathering information to determine what exactly occurred this morning,” RCMP said in a statement.
Residents of Hollow Water say the tragedy has left their close community shaken. “This is scary for everybody,” Christy Williams told CBC. “This incident doesn’t sum up Hollow Water.”
The Hollow Water First Nation, also known as Waanibiigaaw or Wanipigow in Ojibwe, sits on the east shore of Lake Winnipeg and is home to a proud Anishinaabe community now grappling with unimaginable loss.
Well at least the people will not have to support.