Chinatown stabbing suspect says he was mentally and ‘morally’ sick at time of attack

VANCOUVER — The man accused of stabbing three people at a Vancouver Chinatown festival two years ago says he was mentally and “morally” sick at the time of the attack.

Blair Donnelly’s remarks come as he faces cross-examination on the third day of his trial in Vancouver for aggravated assault, two years to the day after the attack in which he acknowledges stabbing three people at the Light Up Chinatown festival.

Donnelly says he was consumed by the thought of harming people after being told by God to do so when he was let out of the B.C. Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam to go on a bike ride on the day of the attack.

Donnelly, who has pleaded not guilty, has faced questioning from Crown prosecutor Mark Myhre, who asked if Donnelly understood what would happen depending whether he was found not criminally responsible for the attack.

The suspect told the court that one outcome would see him sent to jail, and another would see him sent back to the hospital.

When Myhre asked him which he’d prefer, Donnelly said he wants to go where “God wants me to go.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2025.