Woman dead, 6 injured after stabbings at library in Canada

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — One woman was killed and six other people were injured Saturday when a man went on a stabbing spree in a library in Canada, authorities said.

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The stabbing occurred at the Lynn Valley branch in North Vancouver, the CBC News Network reported. According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, one man is in custody.

Authorities said the man was arrested at around 2 p.m. PDT at the library, which is part of a shopping center.

Frank Jang, a spokesperson for the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, said authorities are looking for witnesses and are trying to determine a motive. He said the man accused of the stabbings is in his 20s and has had previous interactions with authorities.

“Obviously, the question is, ‘Why did this happen?’” Jang told reporters during a news conference. “We believe we know the who, the what, the where and the when. It is now our job to determine the why.”

“Every little thing is important on this one. If you were here and you saw the one man who was taken into custody, if you heard him say anything, whatever the case may be, we need you to come forward.”

Steve Mossop, who witnessed the incident, told The Associated Press that he and his partner were stopped in traffic when they saw a bloodied woman who told them she had just been stabbed. They then saw several victims within about 100 yards of each other, he said.

“There was a man, there was an older woman, there was a younger woman, a mom -- a random group of individuals in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Mossop told the AP. “It seemed like he was just running in a direction, whoever was in his path happened to be victimized.”

Another witness, Shayla Dyson, told CTV News Vancouver that she heard a commotion while she was eating at a restaurant near the library and saw a man stabbing a woman. Restaurant staff members chased the man away and brought the woman inside.

“None of the victims seem to have anything in common,” Dyson told CTV News Vancouver. “It didn’t look like he knew who they were from the way she was reacting. It seemed random.”

Canadian Public Safety Minister Bill Blair tweeted that the incident was a “senseless act of violence.”

Rylan Harvey, 29, said he had just moved back to North Vancouver.

“I hope the victims are OK,” Harvey told the CBC News Network. “I’m very sad for this to have happened in our community.

“People just seem to be generally shocked. How the hell can this happen in North Van? I grew up five minutes from here.”

Cox Media Group