At least 7 stabbings and knife-related incidents in past week in K-W and surrounding area
Is knife violence on the rise?
There have been at least seven stabbings or knife-related incidents in Kitchener-Waterloo and the surrounding areas in the past week alone.
But at least one expert says it’s too premature to say if there’s been a spike in these types of crimes. However, former Ontario Provincial Police commissioner and CTV News public safety analyst Chris Lewis does take note of the number of incidents in the last week and their proximity to each other.
“I think what is probably unusual is the fact there was a whole pile between Wellington County and Waterloo Region in a short period of time,” Lewis said.
Since Thursday, Kitchener and Waterloo have seen at least four knife-involved or stabbing-related incidents, including one that saw a youth charged and two people transported to hospital.
Investigators believe the accused and victims knew each other.
“Stabbings are more intimate,” Lewis said. “You have to get into someone's personal space. You can't do it from 10 or 15 yards away.”
In Guelph, there have been two incidents where a knife was pulled in the last week. One happened in a business, another on a transit bus.
In Woodstock, police were called to an apartment complex last Tuesday for reports of a dispute. It resulted in a 56-year-old man charged with second-degree murder for the fatal stabbing of a 59-year-old man.
So what might be behind this possible spike?
Lewis points to how easy knives are to obtain. He also suggests the pandemic may be a contributor.
“People being stuck in houses and not being able to work in many cases and I think that caused a rise in domestic disputes, neighbour disputes,” Lewis said.
Could Canada’s gun-control legislation play into more knife-related crimes? Experts aren’t linking the two at this point.
“It's way too soon to link it to any gun legislation,” Lewis said. “Handguns have been illegal for the average person in Canada for a long, long time. Most of my life.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.