Doctor who stopped attack on nurse given bravery award

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/11/2021 (495 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A doctor has been recognized for his brave act of tackling a suspect who had stabbed a woman in the atrium of the Seven Oaks hospital last month.

Dr. Ken Hahlweg was given a special award for bravery by Doctors Manitoba Wednesday for intercepting the attacker on Oct. 27. He chased the suspect out of the hospital, into the hands of police officers who had just arrived at the Garden City hospital.

Hahlweg, a family physician and the medical lead at the Northern Connection Medical Centre at Seven Oaks hospital, accepted the award and commended the physicians and health-care workers who rushed to save Candyce Szkwarek after she was stabbed in the neck.

“I happened to be in the right place at the right time,” Hahlweg said.

Hahlweg said he never imagined he would intercept an attempted homicide at his workplace. After hearing a panicked commotion near the entrance, he saw the attack unfolding.

“When I saw someone’s life was in immediate danger, I reacted based on instinct and I thank my training as a physician that allowed me to act.”

The Doctors Manitoba award recognizes acts of heroism by Manitoban physicians.

“People become physicians to heal and to save lives through medicine, but none of us expect to do so by intervening during a violent attack,” said Doctors Manitoba president-elect Dr. Candace Bradshaw.

“Dr. Hahlweg responded selflessly and without hesitation during an attempt to harm a fellow health-care worker, and his actions likely saved the life of his colleague. He is brave, and he is a hero.”

Trevor Farley, a 37-year-old registered nurse who worked at the hospital, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of his mother, 73-year-old Judy Swain, second-degree murder in the death of his father, 73-year-old Stuart Farley, and attempted murder in the attack on Szkwarek.

The attack at the hospital occurred after RCMP officers, responding to a call from an acquaintance, were sent to check on Swain, and found she had been slain on her farm in New Bothwell. Later, RCMP officers sent to inform Swain’s former husband and next of kin, Farley’s father Stuart Farley, discovered he had been killed in his Toronto Street home in Winnipeg.

Mike Nader, CEO of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, said this week Szkwarek is “recovering quite well.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: malakabas_

Malak Abas
Reporter

Malak Abas is a reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press.

   Read full biography