Police describe 'frightening incident' inside Osborne Village drug store

Winnipeg police described a 'frightening incident' that erupted inside an Osborne Village drug store as a woman stabbed three bystanders while fleeing from security staff.

The triple stabbing happened around 1 p.m. on Sunday at a drug store in the first 100 block of Osborne Street.

"Some scary moments for a lot of people," Const. Jason Michalyshen said of the stabbing which he described as frightening.

Michalyshen, a public information officer with the WPS, said police believe a woman went inside the drug store and was identified by the store's security staff as being 'somewhat suspicious.'

He said after a brief altercation, the woman took out a knife and fled the store – stabbing three people as ran towards the exit.

"The suspect did not know the victims directly involved," Michalyshen told CTV News. "In my understanding, they were customers within the business."

Police said the victims include a 57-year-old woman, a 30-year-old woman, and a 75-year-old man. While the injuries to all three were serious, Michalyshen said one of the victims suffered 'more serious' injuries.

About a half hour after the stabbings, officers arrested a 24-year-old woman along the nearby riverbank behind the first 100 block of Roslyn Road. She is facing several charges, including aggravated assault and two counts of assault causing bodily harm.

Police have not released the woman's name, but said she remains in custody.

"We are still conducting a number of interviews specifically with our victims, and clearly they are still recovering physically and I'm sure emotionally today, but investigators have a little bit more work to do despite the fact that we've made an arrest," the constable said.

He said it is difficult at this point for police to say what the motive behind the triple stabbing was. He said the situation raises larger questions for the entire community.

"As difficult as it is to talk about these individuals that were hurt, we have to think about what is the root here," he said, saying there was a level of desperation to the attack.

"Why are individuals within our community entering businesses, confronting innocent bystanders in the fashion that this individual did yesterday? Big questions for us as an entire community, not just police, everyone for sure."

-with files from CTV's Alexandra Holyk