2 'blood-soaked' men face slew of charges in vicious west Edmonton assault
Two men face a total of 65 charges including attempted murder after a violent assault Saturday left a 34-year-old man in critical condition in west Edmonton.
Edmonton police were called to a suite in the area of 173 Street and 69 Avenue at 2 p.m. Saturday after multiple reports of a disturbance from neighbours.
When police walked into the building, two men exited the elevator covered in blood. The men were taken into custody for questioning and police moved on to a unit on the 17th floor.
When they arrived, they found the 34-year-old man with multiple blunt force trauma and stab wounds and several other people face down, bound with zip-ties.
EPS spokesperson Scott Pattison said several of the people found in the suite had been assaulted and are known to police.
Pattison said police confiscated several weapons, including a shotgun and a machete, both of which may have been used in the attack. Police believe the butt of the shotgun may have been used to inflict blunt-force trauma wounds.
Two men are in custody related to the incident.
Quick thinking
Pattison said police reacted quickly thanks to neighbours who called in the disturbance.
"If those neighbours would have waited to phone police ... not only could the accused have gotten away but the complainant — he's in hospital now — surely would have died."
He said nearly everyone involved in the incident was disturbed.
"Not only the people in the building, the neighbours, but everybody that was involved was traumatized," Pattison said. He added he couldn't speak for the police officers involved, though he said it's likely it wasn't easy for them.
"Certainly, when you walk into a building not knowing what you're going to find and all of a sudden two blood-soaked individuals come off the elevator, yeah, that gets your attention pretty quick," he said.
The two men in custody, a 36-year-old and a 38-year-old, face the following charges:
- Attempted murder
- Aggravated assault
- Three counts of assault with a weapon
- Two counts of assault causing bodily harm
- Kidnapping
- Five counts of unlawful confinement
- Intimidation
- Two counts of robbery
- Five counts of forcible confinement
- Breach of probation
- Multiple weapons offences
Pattison said the two men will face more serious charges if the 34-year-old man in life-threatening condition dies.
