Man charged in attack on priest at Canadian parish

A 50-year-old Winnipeg man has been charged with assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon, and disturbing an assemblage of persons after disrupting a Feb. 9 evening Mass at Holy Ghost Parish in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in Canada.

According to Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) testimony — corroborated by video of the incident that has been shared online — the suspect, Pawel Olownia, approached and attempted to stab the parish’s 38-year-old pastor with a knife near the altar. The priest made a screaming sound as he retreated from the attack.

“As the suspect approached the pastor, luckily he was able to see this, whether he saw he had a knife or his sixth sense kicked in, and he was able to avoid getting assaulted by the suspect,” Constable Stephen Spencer, public information officer with the WPS, told local media outlets.

Immediately after the priest escaped unharmed, and as video showed, “the suspect drove the knife into the altar before sitting in a chair at the back of the altar,” a WPS news release stated.

Continued below.

Gregory Thompson said:

Manitoba, isn't it one of those high suicide provinces?

Click to expand...

I suspect it’s another mental illness episode.