RCMP have charged A 35-year-old Grande Prairie resident with aggravated assault after allegedly stabbing two children. Authorities confirmed that additional charges may be forthcoming.
Const. Julie-Ann Strilaiff told True North that the charges could be upgraded to attempted murder at a later date.
She noted that such a decision would involve consultation with the Crown, as was the case in a separate, reportedly unrelated incident in Halifax, where another adult was charged after stabbing a child.
“When we are pursuing a charge for attempted murder, it is done in consultation with the Crown,” Strilaiff explained. “There are a lot of rules and regulations around that process.”
In a statement released on Feb. 25, the RCMP confirmed that the accused was brought before a Justice of the Peace and released the following day with conditions. While the specific conditions were not disclosed in the RCMP’s announcement, True North confirmed that a no-contact order with the victims was among them.
As True North previously reported, questions have arisen within the community about why the suspect was released so quickly after being taken into custody, and why there was no notice provided to the public at the time of their release.
RCMP only provided a statement on the release and the charges on Feb. 25, nearly a full week after the accused was set free.
Const. Strilaiff explained, “There was no indication this was a random incident. It was targeted – but not random – and at that time, the members in Grand Prairie didn’t believe this would pose a threat to the general public.”
The existing charges stem from an alleged incident on Feb. 19 where RCMP said EMS were called to a home in the northern Alberta city just after 11 p.. Upon arrival, they found two children suffering from knife-related injuries.
An eight-year-old child sustained stab wounds and was transported to Grande Prairie Regional Hospital in serious but non-life-threatening condition.
The child was later transferred to the Stollery Children’s Hospital for further treatment.
A second child, a seven-year-old, suffered minor but similar injuries.
The children are now in protective custody, with the 8-year-old facing months of recovery — including time on a feeding tube after her esophagus was severed.
Shortly after the incident, the accused reportedly made social media posts about the attack while still in custody. On Discord, they wrote:
“On the psychology ward. I sort of had a break happen. My kids are OK, but I did sort of … unconsciously stab Mia in the shoulder. I feel terrible. Then I had this feeling in emergency tonight that a ritual was taking place and people didn’t even know it … but I watched the whole thing unfold. I even saw an Indigenous queen. She was so regal.”
“I am very apologetic and hurt,” the accused later wrote on Facebook shortly after release.
“Trust that. This was nowhere near my 2025 bingo card,” the post continued.
Although a publication ban might preclude media from reporting on certain aspects of the case – such as using the names of the accused and the victims – police confirmed the accused is not legally restricted from posting about the incident on social media themselves.
The accused, who self-identifies as gender fluid, previously listed their pronouns as “she/they/him” but recently updated them to “she/her/they/them” on social media.
Authorities also addressed speculation regarding the circumstances of the accused’s release, confirming that the family of the accused applied for a Form 8 warrant under Alberta’s Mental Health Act.
A Form 8 warrant allows a family member to request an involuntary psychiatric assessment if they believe a loved one poses a danger to themselves or others due to a mental disorder but refuses treatment. Under this process, the individual must undergo assessment within 24 hours. If they meet the criteria for involuntary treatment, they may be held under a Form 10 for up to 72 hours.
However, in this case, a Form 10 was not initiated by either police or a physician, leading to the accused’s release just 26 hours after being taken into custody.
The accused is scheduled to appear in the Alberta Court of Justice in Grande Prairie on March 13.