New Year's Eve stabbing victim lucky to be alive, says daughter
An Edmonton man who was one of the victims in a pair of random New Year's Eve stabbings is lucky to be alive, says his daughter.
Curtis Lizotte, 53, is in hospital recovering from a stab wound to his abdomen, after he was attacked on the street near 96th Street and 111th Avenue at about 9:15 p.m. on New Year's Eve.
Police believe the man who stabbed Lizotte may also be responsible for a second stabbing that happened 20 minutes later, several blocks west, at Kingsway Transit Centre.
Investigators were still searching for the suspect as of Thursday, an Edmonton Police Service spokesperson said.
Nicole Lizotte said her dad was walking home from a quick trip to a nearby store when a man yelled at him from across the street, asking if he had a lighter. She says her dad told him no, and that's when the attacker approached.
"Then the guy ran across the street, pulled out a machete and stabbed him right in the stomach," she said in an interview Wednesday.
"The guy just ran away. It was for no reason — no reason at all — nothing was taken from him, so it wasn't a robbery or anything like that, so that's why we're all kind of wondering what the motive for this was."
She said her father was in shock and badly injured. She said he didn't have his phone, but that he managed to walk home, where he asked her mother to call 911.
In critical condition when he was taken to hospital by paramedics, he was in surgery for hours that night.
The surgeon told his family that the knife missed a main artery by millimetres and his spine by an inch, his daughter said.
"He's in a lot of pain of course, but he's going to make it through, so we're grateful for that," she said.
The second random stabbing victim on New Year's Eve was assaulted at the Kingsway Transit Centre, several blocks west of where Curtis Lizotte was attacked. (David Bajer/CBC)
At Kingsway Transit Centre, a 45-year-old man was stabbed by a man who then fled the area, EPS said in a news release Monday. Police say the suspect took off on foot, and was headed south toward downtown.
That victim, who had been at the transit centre with his adult son, was taken to hospital in critical condition, police said.
Staff Sgt. Andrew Lawson told reporters Monday that investigators aren't sure of the suspect's motivation. Neither stabbing involved a robbery.
"It appears completely random," Lawson said. "Both complainants were just out minding their business, having a nice night on New Year's Eve when this occurred. It's a bit disturbing for our team and everyone involved."
He said police are hoping to speak with any witnesses to the attack.
Nicole Lizotte said she hopes the person who stabbed her father and the other man is located quickly before someone else gets hurt.
