Saskatoon woman randomly stabbed in torso while shopping downtown
The victim of a random stabbing in downtown Saskatoon last Thursday is sharing her story about the terrifying attack in broad daylight.
She is one of two women who were stabbed by a random attacker in two separate areas of the downtown core around 5:00 p.m. in the afternoon May 25.
The first incident happened on the sidewalk on 20th street at the southside of Midtown Plaza, where she was going shopping.
That’s where the first victim, Sumika Zaidi, says she remembers someone running from across 20th Street and behind her. She then felt a sharp pain.
“The shock is disturbing my life,” Zaidi told CTV News.
Zaidi is a 25-year-old newlywed who came to Saskatoon from Pakistan. She says she is afraid now and didn’t want her face shown.
“I can’t take this situation out of my mind. It happened so rapidly that I can’t understand what just happened to me in 20 to 25 seconds, it was so quick,” she says.
She realized she had been stabbed and the woman kept running down 20th Street eastward. She recalls the attacker had a smaller knife in her left hand and a larger knife on her also and was very deliberate, not appearing high or intoxicated from what she could tell.
“She was running. I just saw her. I know she was in her senses,” she says.
Zaidi is now recovering from a stab wound just above her hip which required twelve stitches.
She can’t walk much yet and was told by doctors that it will take about two months to recover. But she says it’s the emotional toll that will take the longest to heal.
Being from Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi, it baffles her that this attack happened in Saskatoon.
“We think about foreign countries, and we think that we are safe clean and I just cam here and I come here and get stabbed, it’s so terrifying,” she says.
Police confirmed in a news release that this wasn’t the only attack reported and that another woman, a 35-year-old, was also stabbed a few blocks away near 2nd Avenue on 20th street a short time later.
A 28-year-old woman was located by police in a building at 300 2nd Avenue which is the address of the Lighthouse Assisted Living.
The woman charged in both attacks is facing two counts of assault causing bodily harm, possession of a weapon for the purpose of committing an offence and carrying a concealed weapon as well as breach of probation.
Zaidi has no plans to move back home and realizes this was very random.
“Three and a half months goes smoothly, and I enjoyed the city, but what happened last Thursday is so terrifying for me. I can’t’ go outside without someone,” she says.
Her family calls her every day to check in as they are shocked and devastated by what happened. Her parents are planning to come visit in July.
She wanted to get her story out so that others can be more aware of their surroundings and not have to go through what she did.
She does admit though, that she couldn’t have done anything differently to prevent the senseless random attack.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.