Grand Prairie parent who allegedly stabbed child was recently released from custody

Just days before a shocking stabbing in Halifax left a six-year-old boy hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, a disturbingly similar case was unfolding nearly 5,000 kilometres away in ...

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Author: Alex Zoltan

Just days before a shocking stabbing in Halifax left a six-year-old boy hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, a disturbingly similar case was unfolding nearly 5,000 kilometres away in Grande Prairie, Alberta.

According to a local report, on Feb. 19, two children in northern Alberta suffered knife wounds in an incident that required immediate medical. RCMP then arrested 35-year-old Michael “Alice” Attwood, a parent from Grande Prairie, who police charged with aggravated assault.

RCMP spokesperson Const. Corey Riggs confirmed the arrest to the Daily Herald Tribune, stating Attwood was brought before a justice of the peace and subsequently released pending the next court appearance.

In a troubling parallel to the Halifax case — where a 19-year-old allegedly stabbed a child near a bus shelter after being recently released following a different assault charge — Attwood had also been detained and then freed shortly before the attack.

The circumstances of both cases have raised concerns about the effectiveness of current measures to assess and manage potential threats to public safety.

There are also concerns that the alleged crime occurred without any statement from the RCMP to alert the public.

According to concerned family members, who requested anonymity, they were advised to pursue a Form-8 application with the Alberta courts — a legal measure under Alberta law that allows a judge to issue a warrant for psychiatric assessment if an individual is believed to pose a risk to themselves or others.

The application was granted, enabling medical professionals to keep Attwood in a facility for up to 30 days.

True North spoke to a senior pediatric nurse about the paralleling incidents who said, “An adult stabbing a child? Yes, I’ve never seen that in 20 years.”

“Children stabbing children, yes. Adults assaulting children, yes. But adults stabbing children? Totally rare and unusual.”

“Like most things though,” she continued ”whether it be appendix bursts, drug overdoses, plane crashes, whatever – these events tend to happen in weird clusters.”