Accused in church attack has history of addictions, mental-illness, attempted ‘suicide by cop’

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This article was published 11/02/2025 (207 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In an ominous warning, Pawel Olownia texted a message to his former common-law wife that he “was going to jail for a long time” early one day in November 2017.

Olownia, who was barred by a probation order from contacting his ex about anything apart from family court and their two shared children, advised her to call police in the text sent at about 8 a.m.

She called the Winnipeg Police Service, in the first report of what turned into Olownia’s intoxicant and mental-illness fuelled attempt at so-called “suicide by cop” on Nov. 2, 2017, in which he threatened to kill officers with a knife and demanded they shoot him, before leading them on a vehicle chase that ended with a police blockade and an electroshock Taser to subdue him.

Olownia, 50, now stands accused of attempting to stab a 38-year-old Catholic priest during Sunday evening mass at Holy Ghost Parish church in what police believe was a random attack.

The priest was able to dodge the stabbing attempt in the shocking attack, which was captured on the church’s livestream video. An off-duty RCMP officer and other parishioners detained the suspect.

Olownia was charged with assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon and disturbing a meeting in Sunday’s incident at the Selkirk Avenue house of worship. He was detained in custody and the charges haven’t been heard in court.

After the 2017 incident, Olownia was charged with assaulting a police officer with a weapon, impaired driving and breach of probation.

His defence lawyer had sought a psychiatric assessment to determine whether he was fit to stand trial or should be found not criminally responsible due to mental disorder. Staff at an addictions rehabilitation centre where he was while out on bail and corrections officers in provincial jail both grew concerned that he was hallucinating and delusional.

A psychiatrist ultimately found him fit, but Crown prosecutor Marla Bettencourt told provincial court his addictions and mental-health issues played a role in the crimes, to which he pleaded guilty in July 2018.

Olownia’s specific mental-health issues were not mentioned in court, but the judge was told he had a long-standing alcohol problem and had, at the time, begun using methamphetamine.

“He essentially, to colloquialize it, imploded and it really came to a head on that day and night of Nov. 2, 2017,” his lawyer, Sarah Inness, who’s now a King’s Bench justice, told court. “He’s lucky to be here.”

Before police officers responded to the ex-spouse’s cryptic report later that day, 911 dispatch received a call from one of Olownia’s friends just after 5 p.m.

The friend warned that Olownia, who was driving a white Ford F-150 pickup truck, had texted him to say he had a gun and that “police (were) going to go off with a bang,” provincial court Judge Lindy Choy heard at his sentencing hearing.

Olownia told the friend he planned to T-bone a cruiser car.

An officer, dealing with an unrelated call on Selkirk Avenue, noticed a Ford F-150 pull into a parking spot near his cruiser. The officer went to speak with Olownia, who began threatening to kill him.

“When asked if he’s that (reported) individual, he says, ‘Maybe I am, do you want to fight? F—king shoot me, I want to die, and I’ll give you a f—king reason to shoot me,’” Crown prosecutor Marla Bettencourt told court. He then pulled out a 12.5-cm knife.

Olownia got outside of the truck and brandished the knife, asking police to shoot him before he hopped back in the vehicle and peeled off, leading to a chase down Selkirk Avenue to McPhillips Street, where other cruisers blocked and stopped his vehicle, Bettencourt said.

With firearms drawn, two officers went to the driver’s side and told Olownia to put his hands up, but he again pulled out a knife and pointed it, saying “I’ll kill you if you don’t kill me.”

Officers backed up, and from the driver’s seat, Olownia continued to point the knife, at one point holding it to his neck in a slicing motion, before he got out of the truck and took a step toward officers, who used a Taser to subdue and arrest him.

In the truck, police found two half-empty cans of beer, a partially empty 750-ml bottle of vodka, unopened beer and an open package of steak knives. Officers determined he was highly impaired.

Inness told court Olownia began receiving psychiatric help while in jail, including medication, and that he wanted to continue to receive help at the time.

She said he had a “very, very difficult” upbringing in Poland and Greece before immigrating to Canada, but had led a productive life, working and raising two children with his common-law partner, before his addictions issues worsened in the fall of 2017.

He had stabilized by the time of the court proceedings. He was given 11 months of time served and 18 months of supervised probation, with an emphasis on psychiatric counselling, on a joint recommendation.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca