'Jittery as hell': Saskatoon woman shaken after witnessing her nephew's stabbing

The stabbing of a teenager outside Saskatoon's downtown mall last week has left one family in shock and looking for answers.

The aunt of the victim, who witnessed part of the incident, says she can’t return to work at the mall and she’s in therapy to try and deal with the ordeal.

Sandra Wiebe says she's still reeling from witnessing her 16-year-old nephew being attacked in the middle of the day on First Avenue. She believes it was random and he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Wiebe has worked at Midtown for four years. Last Thursday she says her nephew paid her a visit. Afterwards while he was waiting outside for the bus on First Avenue, she looked over and saw the teen in a confrontation with a group of two men and a woman which turned into a fistfight. 

“I started running towards him. The next thing I know, he’s freaking out. He’s got blood pouring out of his head,” Wiebe told CTV News.

She called an ambulance — which she says came quickly — and says she is grateful mall customers and other staff jumped in quickly to try to help.

“I’m thankful for that because my nephew was bleeding bad,” she says.

Weibe says he was released from hospital and is recovering from a knife wound to his temple — which narrowly missed any critical parts of the brain or face.

According to a police news release issued last week, officers were called to the area around 12:30 p.m. on Thursday after "an altercation involving several people."

"Several suspects were located and taken into custody nearby; however, all were later released without charges," the news release said.

Police said a male suspect fled the scene on foot and discarded a knife in a garbage bin.

In an email to CTV News on Tuesday, Saskatoon police said officers are still searching for the suspect.

That’s not much consolation to Wiebe.

"My sense is safety is gone. I talk to numerous people in the mall. In Midtown Plaza we see the security guards and they are busy and always aware,” she said.

According to Wiebe, the attack has taken its toll on her and her family.

“It’s horrific and shouldn’t happen to anybody.”

This isn’t the first time something has happened since she’s been working at the mall, according to Weibe. In 2019, she says someone entered her workplace and attacked staff when confronted.

She tried to go back to work Monday, but it was too much for her to handle.

“The second one has compounded it onto the first one and I’m jittery as hell,” she admits.