One In Custody After Stabbing At Cedarbrae Mall
Posted December 10, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
There are just two weeks before Christmas Eve and the stores are more crowded than ever, as shoppers try to get as much done as possible before running out of time.
But those at busy Cedarbrae Mall, near Markham and Lawrence, were more worried about blood than bargains on Wednesday, after a frightening incident inside the shopping concourse lead to two men being stabbed.
Police are still trying to figure out exactly what happened around 4:15pm, when as many as six men got into some kind of altercation outside a leather store. Voices were raised, followed by weapons, and by the time paramedics arrived, two men had been wounded.
“We have a busy mall with people out shopping, near to capacity, when a group of youth … were seen to get into an argument,” explains Sgt. Douglas Brown. “That argument escalated into a fistfight. And that fistfight escalated into a double stabbing with two people, with two individuals to hospital.”
A 21-year-old victim was slashed in the neck, but luckily his wound wasn’t serious.
Cops immediately filed into the mall, looking for suspects and began examining video surveillance taken from a camera at a nearby kiosk. Police say the dispute may have started when the men bumped into each.
Shani Kalloo works right next to the spot where the violence broke out. “It was a very quiet day and then all of a sudden there was yelling going on. And of all sudden you saw this guy being taken down and lots of blood coming out of his mouth.
“They just started yelling. They were pushed into this leather store … What appeared to be like a stabbing in his neck … There was a lot of blood all over the place.”
Some shoppers came forward to render first aid while others appeared to try and hinder the progress of police.
Kalloo admits it was disturbing, especially in what she calls a normally quiet spot. “It’s pretty disgusting to see at your daily work scene.”
Twenty-one-year-old Jamaal Williams is facing several charges, including assault with a weapon and aggravated assault.
