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Saturday, June 05, 2010
The Winnipeg woman accused of stabbing her two young children has been charged with attempted murder for the attack, police said Friday.
Investigators allege the 35-year-old woman grabbed a knife and stabbed her nine-year-old son and her four-month-old son Thursday night. It's believed she was then prevented from attacking her four-month-old niece by the little girl's mother -- who is the 32-year-old sister of the suspect.
The adult sister struggled with her and disarmed her, but was stabbed in the process. She was treated and released from hospital Thursday night. The children, initially listed in critical condition, were upgraded to stable condition on Friday.
The mother of the injured boys was grappling with post-partum depression and had been hospitalized in February, the Free Press previously reported.
The woman, who came to Canada from Somalia, lived on the fourth floor of 355 Kennedy St. with her two children.
She told police her husband had been using magic on her, according to a Free Press source.
The husband doesn't live in Canada.
On Friday afternoon, at the Manitoba Housing complex where the woman lived, many neighbours were still in shock. The building's management slipped support packages under suites' doors, urging residents coping with stress in the aftermath of the attack or other events to contact a mobile crisis hotline. "It's quite upsetting for everybody," said one woman, who lives in the building. "It's much too close to home."
Though many neighbours said they didn't know the woman -- with one adding building residents generally "keep to themselves" -- some said they often saw the woman smiling and laughing with her children and crossing the hallway to visit a friend.
She often entertained female guests, neighbours said.
After news of the attack broke, some hoped the incident would shed light on the need for support services for refugees and new Canadians. "For people from other countries, there are not enough agencies," said one woman who lives in the complex. "They don't know where to go (for support). Even people from here don't know where to go... it makes it tough on everybody."
Police, too, are having a tough time dealing with the violent attack, said Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen.
The attack left the four-month-old with multiple stab wounds to his lower body.
The nine-year-old was stabbed once before he fled the fourth-floor suite and sought help from security guards, who then called 911. "Our biggest concern is the well-being of the victims in this matter," Michalyshen said.
Police arrested the woman on the scene. Michalyshen said the woman had no previous run-ins with police.
He wouldn't comment on the woman's mental health, but said the WPS works with outside professionals to "get to the root of the issue" following incidents like the one that occurred Thursday.
"We have to rely on other organizations and other professionals to perform (psychological) assessments," Michalyshen said.
He said talk of the woman's post-partum depression is "speculation" but it was a possibility the woman suffered from it. Child and Family Services has been contacted about the two injured children, he said.
On Friday, women in traditional head coverings went into the sister's downtown apartment at about noon.
Some men who knew the injured sister said they were gathering with elders from the Somali community to talk about the stabbing.
The WPS child abuse unit continues to investigate the incident.
The woman is charged with three counts of attempted murder, assault with a weapon and assault. She is being held at the Winnipeg Remand Centre.
-- With files from Melissa Martin
[email protected] www.mikeoncrime.com
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 5, 2010 A3