A Merritt woman is in serious but stable condition after she was stabbed multiple times on her doorstep in what police are describing as a random act of violence Monday night.
Merritt RCMP Const. Tracy Dunsmore said the 40-year-old woman heard a knock on the front door of her home on Quilchena Avenue at around 8:30 p.m. When she opened the door, a young native male who she did not know asked her for a ride and she refused.
“The male then, without provocation, attacked the woman with a knife and stabbed her multiple times in the chest, back and arms,” said Dunsmore.
The attacker fled the scene and a neighbour, who had heard the woman’s screams, called 911.
Dunsmore said when the RCMP arrived at her home the woman was conscious and was able to give a description of her attacker, though she was suffering from the multiple stab wounds. She was taken immediately to the Nicola Valley Health Center and later transferred to Kamloops Royal Inland Hospital for surgery.
Within an hour of the stabbing, police located an 18-year-old Merritt area resident who fit the description and arrested him.
“There was some indication of alcohol, but whether or not there were drugs, I don’t know,” said Dunsmore.
The young man is expected to appear before a judge in Kamloops court on Thursday and is currently being held in custody in Merritt.
Dunsmore said she assumes when the young man goes to court there will be some kind of psychological assessment.
“Over the years I’ve had some incidents where people have kind of gone berserk,” she said. “This is not normal behaviour, even for someone who is under the influence of alcohol.”
Initial reports indicated the victim’s wounds were life threatening, but Dunsmore said she is currently in serious but stable condition.
