A 25-year old woman has been charged with assault with a weapon after stabbing a woman she knew with a potato peeler following a shouting match in a nightclub in the heart of Vancouver’s entertainment district.

The incident may be the first time that anyone in Vancouver, and possibly North America has been charged with assault with a potato peeler.

“I’ve seen some strange cases over the years with assaults with any number of things used as a weapon,” Constable Jana McGuinness, spokesperson for the Vancouver Police Department, said this morning [Tuesday morning] in an interview.

But she could not think of another case with a potato peeler. If there was another case, it escaped her, she said.

“Anything used for an assault – a hairbrush, a rock or a baseball bat – could be considered a weapon, Constable McGuinness also said.

“If it is intended to inflict harm, that could be a weapon,” she said.

The incident began shortly after midnight Monday. Young, Rich and Famous, DJAbel and guests, the club’s regular Monday evening entertainers, were playing hip-hop, top 40 and party-rock classics. Five-dollar tequila shots were the featured drinks at the club that night.

Yurub Mohammed Arte, who came to Canada from Somalia, became involved in “a verbal altercation” with a 20-year old woman inside the club, Constable McGuin said. The two women knew each other and had “a history” with each other, she said. The exchange was fuelled by alcohol, she added.

The two women were ejected from the club. On the street, Ms. Arte allegedly bit the 20-year old woman on the left breast and then sliced her left ear with the potato peeler. Staff from the club intervened and held Ms. Arte until police arrived.

The victim’s ear bled heavily. However medical staff at the hospital said the injury was minor. Following medial treatment for her ear injury and bite wound, the victim was released from hospital.

Police have not yet determined how Ms. Arte obtained the potato peeler, Constable McGuinness said. Police refused to release the name of the victim. It was not clear from initial reports whether the victim was also from Somali.

Neither women had criminal records, Constable McGuinness said.

Ms. Arte was held in jail over night and expected to be released today. Her first court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 6.

Source: Globe and Mail

ROBERT MATAS

Vancouver — Globe and Mail

Tuesday, Jul. 28, 2009