Blood found outside Vernon school connected to stabbing incident

SUSPECT ARRESTED

VERNON – Police have determined the blood found outside Ellison Elementary School in Vernon is connected to a stabbing incident.

Officers had a portion of Fulton Road and Okanagan Landing Road outside the school cordoned off on Wednesday, May 28 while they investigated the scene and collected evidence. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk said a man showed up at Vernon Jubilee Hospital with serious injuries shortly after the blood was discovered, prompting police to investigate whether the two incidents were related.

“Their investigation has determined the two reports were in fact linked together,” Molendyk said.

A 32-year-old Vernon man suffered stab wounds and underwent surgery Wednesday. He remains in hospital and is expected to make a full recovery, Molendyk said.

Meanwhile, a 32-year-old Vernon man has been arrested in connection with the stabbing and is scheduled to appear in court today, May 28. According to court documents, Corey James Sweet faces one count of aggravated assault.

 It remains unknown whether the stabbing occurred on the roadway in front of the elementary school, or somewhere else.

“The blood at the scene was a result of the altercation between these two men,” Molendyk said. “The victim was at that location at one point, they can place him there for sure. The altercation, we’re not 100 per cent if it happened there.”

Molendyk added it’s likely only a coincidence the incident happened near Ellison Elementary School. A number of evidence markers were laid out at the crime scene Wednesday, each referring to something of interest in the investigation, with the majority identifying blood, or blood splatters, he said.

He would not describe the victim’s injuries or what type of weapon was used in the stabbing because the case is currently before the courts and that information is evidentiary.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

— This story was updated at 12:46 p.m., Thursday, May 28, 2015 to add more information from police and the courts.