A 17-year-old male was stabbed in the chest and arm Saturday night (March 13) when an argument at a Garibaldi Estates house party possibly involving up to eight people escalated into a knife fight.
An 18-year-old who alleged he was being harassed is facing charges of aggravated assault following the altercation.
The altercation began at a house party and then spilled onto the streets of Garibaldi Estates with the stabbing occurred "somewhere on Tantalus Road between the Spectacle and Starview Place," said Cpl. Dave Ritchie.
At 11:36 p.m., B.C. Ambulance and police were called to cul-de-sac of Starview Place off Tantalus Way with reports of a stabbing.
As the report came in, a RCMP constable was speaking to an 18-year-old male who had called police for help from a payphone alleging he was being harassed.
"He told a constable that he was chased by six to eight males," said Ritchie. "He was upset and seemed confused. He couldn't tell the constable why he was being chased or who was chasing him, and he appeared to have alcohol on board."
As the constable was speaking to him, the stabbing report came in with a similar description.
"The male we were speaking to turned out to be the suspect and he was taken into custody."
The suspect and victim are "from the same peer group," according to Ritchie.
The victim was treated and released from hospital and the suspect was released on conditions before a Justice of the Peace to appear in Provincial Court on March 24 for a charge of aggravated assault.
Ritchie said stabbings are rarely seen in Squamish, and serious assaults typically involve other forms of weapons.
"Very seldom do we see this type of aggression with a knife," he said. "We've had more incidents relating to the bear spray type, or using a bat as opposed to actual stabbings. Of course the last serious one would have been the one in Valleycliffe with [Sam] Eves."
