Winnipeg man charged after attempted knife attack on church pastor

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This article was published 10/02/2025 (299 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG – A man is facing multiple charges after it’s alleged he tried to attack a pastor with a knife during a Sunday evening service.

Winnipeg police said they received a report of a man disrupting a church service in the city’s north end at around 6 p.m. 

Police allege the 50-year-old man charged toward a pastor at the altar with a knife.

They said in a news release Monday that the 38-year-old pastor “managed to escape unharmed.” 

Police said Pawel Olownia is facing three charges, including assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon.

A video of the alleged attack reportedly recorded on the church’s livestream service is circulating on social media.

It begins with a pastor at the Holy Ghost Parish singing a hymn near an altar.

Then a man in a yellow jacket is seen charging at him. 

When the man gets close to the pastor, he tries to grab him with his left hand as he raises his right hand in the air, with his fingers gripped around what appears to be a knife.

The video shows the pastor screaming, dodging the man’s hand and running away.

The man then stops, turns around and stabs the knife onto the altar.

He walks over to a nearby red chair and sits down while a large cross hangs over him under an arch.

Another man is then seen walking toward the altar, identifying himself as an officer and telling the man he’s under arrest.

Several other congregants also approach the man in the video as the self-proclaimed officer grabs the man and pulls his arms behind his back.

The pastor in the video watches the arrest nearby.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2025.