WINNIPEG — A Winnipeg woman accused of stabbing her two young children — one of them an infant — 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 sons — aged four months and nine years — on Thursday night. It’s believed she was then prevented from attacking her four-month-old niece by the little girl’s mother, the 32-year-old sister of the suspect.
The sister struggled with the woman 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 postpartum depression and had been hospitalized in February, the Winnipeg Free Press has learned.
The woman, who came to Canada from Somalia, lives in a fourth-floor apartment with her two children.
She told police investigators her husband — who doesn’t live in Canada — had been using magic on her, according to one source.
“Our biggest concern is the well-being of the victims in this matter,” said Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen.
He said investigators are struggling to deal with the violent attack, which 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.
Police arrested the woman on scene. Michalyshen said the woman had no previous run-ins with police.
He wouldn’t comment on the woman’s mental health, but added the Winnipeg Police Service 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 postpartum depression is “speculation” but it’s possible the woman was struggling with it.
Manitoba Child and Family Services have been contacted about the two injured children, he said.
Community members said they were shocked to hear the woman had been arrested.
Around midday Friday, a woman in a traditional Somali head covering visited the sister’s downtown apartment. Some men who knew the injured sister said they were gathering with elders from the Somali community to talk about the stabbing.
The Winnipeg Police Service 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.
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Vancouver Sun
