A thin Aboriginal boy stood quietly in Regina youth court Wednesday morning making his first court appearance after a random stabbing rampage injured four people the previous night.
The incident happened at a downtown Regina shopping mall.
Police say the 15-year-old acted alone, is not connected to a gang and they still have no idea what drove him to the bizarre act of violence.
Regina Deputy Police Chief Bob Morin answered media questions shortly after the boy’s court appearance.
He is facing three charges of aggravated assault, one count of assault with a weapon and a couple of charges for breaching earlier court orders.
The deputy chief says he has never seen anything like what occurred on Tuesday night in his 33 years of policing in Regina.
While at a loss to explain why the incident happened, Morin says he wants to assure residents the city is safe.
“I want to urge people not to be concerned about their safety because the public safety system in this city works and I think last night is an example of where we had a police response almost immediately,” he says.
All four victims are expected to recover.
Police say they have no connection to the attacker and were apparently random targets.
Two Regina beat officers happened to be at the Cornwall Centre mall at about 6 p.m. when the attacks happened.
They quickly subdued the suspect and took him into custody.
Morin says the quick actions of police, mall security and witnesses all contributed to ending the attacks swiftly.
“I think the response of everyone at the scene was exceptional. It speaks to our community and the citizens of our community and to the public safety network.”
Social media was buzzing Wednesday with speculation of a possible gang connection to the stabbings but Morin dismisses this.
“There is no indication there was any gang activity or gang membership or anything related to gangs in this incident.”
The 15-year-old has been remanded in custody until his next court appearance on April 29.
His lawyer will not be seeking bail but is considering ordering a psychiatric assessment of the accused.
He will make his next court appearance via video link.