One person has been taken to the hospital, in the seventh stabbing since March 1, but VicPD says the rate of assaults with a knife “is not significantly higher than most other years.”
Just before 10:30 a.m., Victoria Police officers patrolling downtown were flagged to the 600 block of Yates Street for a man who had just been stabbed.
Police provided first aid and the man was brought to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
One person was brought to hospital and VicPD says no arrests have been made.
“We have seen a number of stabbings, two of which were fatal, but we continue to maintain that Victoria is a safe community,” said Griffen Hohl, VicPD spokesperson.
The scene of this stabbing spans the 1200 block of Douglas Street and the 600 block of Yates Street, according to VicPD.
VicPD says in the first four months of the year there have been 20 assaults with a knife, but this number is in line with quarters in the previous five years.
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Since March 1, this is the seventh stabbing that VicPD has been called to.
On Apr. 9, a man was fatally stabbed outside Palagio pizza which led to a 12-hour investigation and partial closure of Douglas Centre Plaza.
On Mar. 31, two people were stabbed in the 700-block of Pandora Avenue. One person died and the other was sent to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
In the other reported stabbings since March 1, police were not able to provide updates.
VicPD says all of the incidents are considered isolated and there is no reason to believe they are connected at this time.
"The number of violence incidents that VicPD is responding to is concerning," said Chief Del Manak during an interview for CBC's On The Island.
In an interview recorded before the latest stabbing, Manak said he was concerned over a growing trend his officers are seeing on the street.
"[There's an] increase in knives and edged weapons that they're seeing people carrying to protect themselves. In many cases, there's altercations that lead to a police response where somebody was stabbed or threatened," said Manak.
The impact of recent attacks has taken a toll on business owners and community members. The Downtown Victoria Business Association (DVBA) says it's had enough of attacks.
"We should be spending most of our time marketing downtown and supporting events. I spend 80% of my time on these street disorder issues, so I know how frustrating it could be for businesses," said DVBA's CEO Jeff Bray.
Simon Owen who lives in James Bay and knew of the attack in that area last month calls this recent incident a "state of the times."
"People are so hard-pressed for literally everything that I think it's just the stress point starting to boil over for people," said Owen.
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- One person sent to hospital following stabbing in James Bay: police
- One person stabbed in downtown Victoria, police searching for suspect
- One person dead, another taken to hospital following stabbing in downtown Victoria: police
- ‘It’s nerve-wracking’: Businesses reopen after fatal stabbing at Victoria’s Douglas Centre
Editor's note: A previous version of this story said there had been five stabbings in a little over a month. VicPD later clarified there had been seven stabbings since March 1. The story has been updated to reflect this.
Laura Brougham
Oli Herrera
