A man is in custody after a stabbing in downtown Nanaimo Wednesday morning.
Nanaimo RCMP responded about 9:30 a.m. after the incident on Victoria Crescent was reported.
Officers were told by witnesses of an altercation where one person was stabbed and a suspect fled on foot.
They provided a description of the suspect, and a man was taken into custody about 20 minutes later near Port Place Mall.
The victim also left the scene but was found a short distance away and was transported to hospital after being treated by ambulance paramedics. He is in stable condition.
The suspect, who is in his 30s, could face a charge of assault causing bodily harm.
The knife allegedly used has not been located.
Kevan Shaw, spokesman for the Victoria Crescent Association, said the stabbing points to the “strong need” for complex care facilities and detox for those suffering from severe drug addiction and mental-health issues.
It’s not uncommon for altercations to happen in the area when troubled individuals gather, he said.
Shaw said Wednesday’s incident started after one person grabbed another person’s purse.
The person who was stabbed left the scene and went along the block with a couple of friends.
Shaw called on the province to “immediately step in to stop the troubles plaguing our communities.”
He said decriminalization of possession of small amounts of illicit drugs, along with “safer supply” — providing prescription medications as an alternative to toxic illicit drugs to those at high risk of overdose — is only contributing to crime problems on city streets.
