The Toronto Star
TORONTO — A Good Samaritan became a victim herself when her purse was stolen after she stopped to help a man who had been stabbed outside a downtown nightclub early Sunday morning.
The man suffered knife wounds in the chest, back and arms during an altercation outside the Nocturne Nightclub on Queen St. W. near Bathurst St. shortly before 4 a.m., according to Toronto police.
Police said the woman, with some paramedic training, was a bystander. Staff Sgt. Ralph Brookes said she tried to help the wounded man while waiting for paramedics to arrive.
“We are obviously quite disappointed that this lady who stopped to render assistance and save this man’s life had her purse stolen,” Brookes said. “I can’t tell you how disgusted I am.”
The purse has been recovered, but money and valuables were missing from it, said Brookes. He added that police would be putting “quite the resources” into finding the thief, who remained at large Sunday night.
The stabbing victim has been operated on and is now in stable condition.
Police said a 39-year-old man was arrested shortly after the stabbing and charged with aggravated assault.
Another man was also stabbed multiple times in the neck early Sunday morning in an unrelated incident.
The 29-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries in the stabbing on Fairfax Cres. near Warden and St. Clair E. Aves. He was taken to a nearby trauma centre just after 3 a.m. and is in stable condition, police said. Police are still looking for the suspect and witnesses.
Copyright 2012 Toronto Star Newspapers Limited