Man in custody after fatal stabbing in Petawawa
Posted June 28, 2013 8:43 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A 25-year-old man is in custody following a manhunt in the small eastern Ontario town of Petawawa, sparked by an alleged stabbing incident that left a man dead and two others wounded.
Ontario Provincial Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kristine Rae says the body of Danny Petersma, 56, was discovered in a home in the area after police officers responded to a 911 call Friday morning.
Rae says a 55-year-old woman and a 17-year-old girl are in serious condition in hospital.
She says the suspect is not yet charged and is being held pending a court appearance over the weekend.
The manhunt began at 10:52 Friday morning after the officers located Petersma’s body.
Within a few hours, police had a man in custody, after deploying the OPP emergency response team, a K-9 unit and a helicopter.
While the manhunt was underway, residents were asked to secure their homes and to report any suspicious activity to police. Schools in the area were also placed on lockdown.
Military police at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa aided police as they searched for a suspect, although Capt. Sally-Ann Cyr, a spokeswoman for the base, would not specify the kind of assistance that was given, citing operational security.
Cyr did say, however, the alleged stabbing did not occur at CFB Petawawa, which is about a two-hour drive northwest of Ottawa.
“I think there’s some misconceptions that because the military police are involved, it’s because we know it’s a military member, and that’s incorrect,” she said.
“Our local military police will often assist the Ontario Provincial Police local detachment if they require assistance.”
The identities of the suspect and the wounded woman and girl have not been disclosed.
