Man sentenced in 'shocking, unprovoked attack on a stranger' at Cambridge grocery store
A man who stabbed an employee at a Cambridge grocery store was sentenced to three years behind bars on Monday.
The attack happened on Dec. 11, 2022 at the No Frills location on Franklin Boulevard where Siddique Malik’s daughter worked.
According to the agreed statement of facts, Malik’s daughter spoke to one of her coworkers near the checkout area. Malik then approached the employee from behind and stabbed him in the back. The 21-year-old victim tried to get away but Malik ran after him and slashed him across the throat.
Witnesses said Malik yelled: “Get away from my daughter!” and “How do you like that?”
The incident was also captured on security cameras.
After the attack, Malik was seen wandering the aisles and hiding the knife under one of the store shelves. The 42-year-old was arrested at the scene.
Still from a security video, shown in court, of Siddique Malik attacking a grocery store worker in 2022. (Supplied)
The victim was taken to a Hamilton hospital with two wounds, each about seven centimetres long that required multiple stitches and staples.
In February, Malik pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
Malik’s sentencing
Court heard victim impact statements and sentencing submissions on Monday.
The victim described the attack as “a very scary and life-threatening action that was done to me for no reason whatsoever.” He went on to describe the physical, mental, emotional and financial toll, and said his scars will be a constant reminder of what happened in 2022.
“Now I just want to feel safe and be myself again,” his statement read.
When asked what prompted the attack and Malik’s lawyer replied: “From his point of view, a combination of depression, alcohol, [and] situational anxiety over all sorts of things that went wrong in his life through the pandemic.” Court heard that Malik had lost his job and was under a lot of financial stress at the time of the stabbing.
His lawyer added that Malik believed his children were being disrespected at school and, on that December day, it all became too much.
Waterloo police cruisers on scene of a stabbing incident in Cambridge on Dec.11.
Malik was then given the opportunity to address the court.
He apologized and said that he was embarrassed by what he did. Malik told the judge: “I’m just asking for help. Help me out here and I can promise you it will never happen again.”
The defence wanted a sentence of two years less a day. The Crown, calling it "pure luck" that the victim was not killed, asked for four years behind bars.
The judge ultimately gave Malik three years for the aggravated assault charge, calling it “a shocking, unprovoked attack on a stranger with a weapon.”
The judge said that, while she accepted that Malik was remorseful, only a lengthy jail sentence was fitting for what he did.
Malik was given credit for time already spent in custody and on house arrest, bringing his sentence to just over 34 months. He will serve a four-month concurrent sentence for possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING 120 active fires burning across Canada, 30 are 'out of control'
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
Veteran TSN sportscaster Darren Dutchyshen has died
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
BREAKING B.C. parents sentenced to 15 years for death of 6-year-old boy
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has sentenced the mother and stepfather of a six-year-old boy who died from blunt-force trauma in 2018 to 15 years in prison.
Speaker cuts ties with Sask. Party, alleges he faced threats, harassment from gov't MLAs
The Speaker of the Saskatchewan Legislature Randy Weekes has severed ties with the Sask. Party after accusing some members of harassment and intimidation tactics, including a situation he claimed saw the Government House Leader bring a hunting rifle to the legislative building.
Kevin Spacey receives star support as he fights to get his career back
Kevin Spacey is pushing back on the 'rush to judgment' against him and is being backed by some big names as he seeks to reclaim his acting career.
A Toronto man killed his mother and decapitated her. His lawyers argue it wasn't murder
A ‘lifetime of abuse’ led Dallas Ly to snap and repeatedly stab his mother inside their Leslieville apartment in 2022 but he never intended to kill her, his defence lawyers argued during his murder trial in Toronto on Thursday.
Father charged with second-degree murder in daughter's stabbing death southwest of Montreal
A father has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his 34-year-old daughter in southern Quebec.
Trudeau calls New Brunswick's Conservative government a 'disgrace' on women's rights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.
The latest advice for expecting parents? Sign up for childcare as soon as you're pregnant
Canada's new $10-a-day child care program is expanding, but there's growing evidence that demand for the program is rising even faster, leaving many parents on the outside looking in.