Arrests made after stabbing spree at BlueNile restaurant wounds four employees

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This article was published 15/02/2015 (4201 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Four arrests have been made in connection with a stabbing spree that almost killed four people in the West End early Saturday morning.

Just before 6:00 a.m. on Valentine’s Day, police and emergency crews responded to a call at the BlueNile Restaurant and Hookah Lounge, at Sargent Avenue and Young Street. Inside, four men – 32, 35, 37 and 44 years old – were found with stab wounds.

Police won’t say if the weapon used to injure them was a knife, but called it an “edged weapon.”

The 37-year-old man involved was rushed to hospital in critical condition. His status has not yet been updated.

Two men and a woman fled the scene in a black Dodge Charger, which wound up found in a ditch outside a concrete barrier in the 1400 block of Portage Avenue near Polo Park Shopping Mall.

Police learned upon investigation the two men and woman who fled were part of a larger group in the restaurant that were asked to leave by an employee. Police assume the employees were trying to close up shop as it was nearing 6:00 a.m.

One of the men produced a weapon and stabbed the employee in the upper body. Three more employees from the restaurant stepped in to try to help their co-worker. The man also stabbed them in their upper bodies.

While this was happening, the woman allegedly stole keys to the Charger and drove it up to the club’s door, helping the remaining men make a quick getaway.

Only two men made it into the car. A third man was arrested at the scene.

Although one man allegedly stabbed the four employees, his three friends are also being charged with attempt to commit murder, aggravated assault and assault causing bodily harm, because they chose to side with him, police said.

“It’s one individual… doing the actual assault. But when you choose to side with those people, you are now becoming part of that,” said Const. Eric Hofley at a press conference Sunday.

“(If) everyone bails in, you’re helping, right? Whether you’ve got that weapon or not, you’ve chosen to be on this side and whatever happens after that, that’s unfortunate. But you shouldn’t have made that (decision) in the first place.”

If any of the employees were to die from the injuries sustained, the arrested persons’ charges could be upgraded to include homicide.

Mohamed Abdulle, 22, Tristen Tevone Bailey, 22, Tashari Carmen Edith Bennett, 25 and Raheem Thomas-Stewart, 19, were arrested and charged by police shortly after the incident.

All four are from Ontario – Abdulle and Bailey hail from Toronto, Bennett from Mississauga and Thomas-Stewart from Brampton.

Winnipeg police aren’t sure yet if the people they arrested are known to Ontario police.

Police would not say which person did the stabbing, either.

The four people arrested remain in custody.