2014 Calgary stabbing

2014 Calgary stabbing
Location within Calgary
Location	11 Butler Crescent, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Coordinates	51°5′25.4″N 114°7′35.4″W / 51.090389°N 114.126500°W / 51.090389; -114.126500Coordinates: 51°5′25.4″N 114°7′35.4″W / 51.090389°N 114.126500°W / 51.090389; -114.126500
Date	April 15, 2014 (2014-04-15) 01:20 MDT (UTC-06:00)
Attack type	Stabbing
Weapons	Large knife
Deaths	5
Suspected perpetrator	Matthew de Grood

On April 15, 2014, five young adults were stabbed to death at a house party in the Brentwood neighbourhood of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The stabbing attack occurred several blocks away from the University of Calgary campus, and the party was held to mark the end of their school year. It was the deadliest act of mass murder to have ever occurred in the history of Calgary.^[1] Police arrested Matthew de Grood in connection with the massacre.^[2]

Details

The attack occurred at 1:20 a.m. at a house at 11 Butler Crescent,^[3] where about thirty people were present at the party. The assailant, an invited guest, committed the attacks shortly after arriving at the party. He obtained a large knife at the house and stabbed the victims methodically. Each victim was stabbed multiple times. The suspected attacker fled on foot but was arrested by police 40 minutes later with the aid of the K-9 unit.^[4]

Victims

The victims were Joshua Hunter, Kaiti Perras, Jordan Segura, Lawrence Hong and Zackariah Rathwell, who ranged from 21 to 27 years of age. Hunter lived in Priddis, Alberta, while the other four lived in Calgary. Hong, Segura and Rathwell were pronounced dead at the scene, while Perras and Hunter were taken to hospital but succumbed to their wounds.^[1][2][5][6]

Suspect

The suspect is Matthew de Grood, 22, who attended the University of Calgary and was planning on attending law school. He was an employee of Safeway prior to the stabbings.^[3] He has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder. He had no previous run-ins with the police. He is the son of a city police officer with the rank of Inspector.^[2][4][5] De Grood was being held at a secure psychiatric facility adjacent to the Calgary Remand Centre. According to authorities, he personally knew at least one person that was present during the party.^[7] According to de Grood's parents and classmates, his behaviour had started to change in the weeks before the murders; he began posting more frequently on Facebook, submitting "bizarre" status updates.^[3] On May 22, de Grood was found mentally fit to stand trial after undergoing a psychiatric assessment.^[8]

References