A soccer pitch was still covered this morning with balls and pylons as police searched for more evidence in a bloody stabbing that sent a young boy to hospital and landed a 19-year-old in custody.
The boy, believed to be 11, was stabbed Thursday in the neck during a skills camp involving dozens of young players at a pitch in the Topsail neighbourhood of Conception Bay South, a suburban town just west of St. John's.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary said Friday that a 19-year-old man arrested late Thursday night is facing charges of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.
Nicholas Layman is on the docket at St. John's provincial court on these charges, but has not yet appeared before a judge.
Witnesses told CBC News that a young man from the bleachers had stabbed the boy.
"He fell into my arms, and I just grabbed and held his wound, and put my arm around the back of his head, and lay him down on the field and lay with him, and just applied pressure to his wound," said a soccer father who was on the scene.
CBC News is not identifying the father for privacy reasons.
"I just screamed to some other parents to call 911," he said.
The boy was taken to hospital and had been listed in serious condition. His status was not known Friday morning.
Sources tell CBC News that police believe the attack was random, and that a mental-health issue may be involved.
The RNC arrested a suspect a couple of hours later in another neighbourhood.
Police Chief Bill Janes said he could not divulge details of how the suspect was taken into custody.
'Disbelief that someone could do that'
Conception Bay South Mayor Ken McDonald said the stabbing has shocked people in his community.
'He fell into my arms, and I just grabbed and held his wound, and put my arm around the back of his head and lay him down on the field ... and just applied pressure to his wound.'- Parent who assisted boy stabbing in Topsail
"Fear and shock are a couple of words to describe it. To me it, it was a bit of disbelief that someone could do that," said McDonald.
McDonald said counsellors are available to help children, parents and coaches who saw the gruesome scene play out before their eyes.
"I'm sure it's very traumatic. You watch an incident like this happening on a TV show and it kind of gives you the shivers — to be there first hand and see it happen? It's not going to be easy to put that out of their minds in the very near future," said McDonald.
Janes was visibly shaken as he spoke late Thursday night with reporters at police headquarters.
"This incident can only be described as a terrible tragedy," he said.
The RNC held the pitch overnight as a crime scene, and has brought in forensic specialists to help collect evidence. The pitch was illuminated overnight to help police.
Meanwhile, the C.B.S. Soccer Association said activities at the field and nearby clubhouse have been suspended for now. In a statement, the organization said it was "shocked and saddened by an incident at Topsail Field Thursday evening that sent one of our young players to hospital."
Counsellors available for children
The English School District said counsellors will be available at neighbourhood schools on Friday to help children deal with the traumatic scene.
The boy who was stabbed is a student at Holy Family School in neighbouring Paradise.
Sandy Hounsell, who chairs the school council, described the incident as traumatic and devastating, including to his own son.
"He was very inquisitive, and asking questions and why such a thing would happen — and that's where the difficulty is in how do you explain that," he said.
"How do you make an 11-year-old understand why something like this would happen?"
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