Campbell River father recovering from stab wounds after what family says was a random attack
Colin Dube-Wheat is recovering from a terrifying ordeal. The 21-year-old Campbell River father was stabbed in the heart and lung.
The attack happened in the early hours of July 14 in downtown Campbell River.
His cousin, Jen Fyfe, says Dube-Wheat was walking home from a party. He heard cries for help, saw someone seemingly overdosing, and went to help -- and that’s when he was viciously stabbed by a stranger.
“My family was just stabbed going to help somebody, so it is a lot to process,” said Fyfe Monday.
The Good Samaritan was airlifted to Victoria General Hospital – where he had life-saving open-heart surgery. This weekend he returned home to begin what’s expected to be a slow recovery.
“We’re really grateful for the interventions that everybody did to save his life because it could have gone a lot worse,” said Fyfe.
It’s been a year full of tragedy for Dube-Wheat. His younger brother died, and his family's dog was killed in a house fire.
“It’s been really hard,” Fyfe told CTV News Monday. “You know, you don’t want to see young people struggle.”
Dube-Wheat is engaged. He and his fiancé have a two-year-old daughter. Fyfe has set up a GoFundMe page to support the young family -- because her cousin won’t be able to work for several months and his fiancé will have to take time off work to care for their child.
No arrests have been made in the case. Campbell River RCMP say its major crimes unit is investigating the attack. It says the public isn’t in danger. That’s not a perspective shared, however, by Fyfe, who says the stabbing represents a bigger problem -- escalating violent crime.
“Like that person's out there and they randomly stabbed somebody -- like we gotta talk about this,” said Fyfe. “I am totally alarmed -- I don’t feel like downtown Campbell River is a safe place to be.”
Anyone with information about the crime is urged to contact the police.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
P.E.I. kiteboarder 'lucky to be alive' after shark attack in Turks and Caicos
A professional kiteboarder from P.E.I. says he has been seriously injured in a shark attack that occurred while he was snorkelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
Teen dies after being hit by train in N.W. Calgary
A teenager has died after being hit by a train in northwest Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.
Black bear kebabs make family sick with parasitic worms
It was supposed to be a celebration, but one family’s unique meal of black bear meat sent several members to the hospital instead.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there’s a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.